


The Gap Theory

by PickYourPoison98



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Adorable Eren, Alternate Universe, Anal Sex, Angst (Kind of) but it doesn't last long, Awkward Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Bottom Eren, Businessman Levi, Career Change, College Student Eren, Drama, Egotistical/smug Levi, Enemies to Lovers, Eren also likes to cook, Eren has a crush on Erwin, Eren is a brat as usual, First Time, Hange is referred to as both "Hange" and "Hanji", Hange uses they/them pronouns, He is haunted by his past, Intern Eren, Jealous Petra, Jean and Eren have a love/hate relationship, Levi has issues, Levi is extremely sexually attracted to Eren, Loss of Virginity, M/M, Masturbation, Mikasa Ackerman & Levi Are Related, Minor/Background Relationships - Freeform, Multiple POVs (especially at the beginning), No Levi REALLY has issues, Obsessive Levi, Oral Sex, Past Levi/Petra Ral, Romance, Short Eren, Slow Build, Tall Levi (because why not?), Top Levi, a lot of inner dialogue, but it doesn't last long, oblivious Eren
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-09
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2020-04-23 03:19:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 33
Words: 140,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19142503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PickYourPoison98/pseuds/PickYourPoison98
Summary: Eren is a young college student majoring in economics, and he becomes an intern at A&E Corporation as per his two best friends' request. He's interested in men who are kind, loyal, can make him laugh, and are tall, blonde, and handsome.Levi just turned thirty-five and the only thing that makes him happy is tea and getting his work done. But he might possibly have a thing for cute brats with big blue-green eyes and long, dark eyelashes. He's way too awkward to initiate any conversation though.Enter Hange, who just wants their bestest friend Levi to be happy, and they think that Eren is the one for the job. Hange is absolutely certain that Eren and Levi will be a great match! But how can they be with a fifteen-year age gap, hardly anything in common, and different morals, views, and values?Well, opposites attract, right?





	1. Chapter 1

Eren was currently sunk into his crater in the corner of the couch, absorbed in the gun and prostitute filled world of GTA V. The day after he moved out of the dorms and back into his house was the same day he picked right back up where he’d left off. His stomach was screaming at him for filling it with copious amounts of pizza and Dr. Pepper for the last twelve hours, but summer only lasted so long – he had to enjoy it while he had the chance!

“And I called the company and this really nice lady answered and said that they’re looking for _at least_ 15 interns to work this summer! It’s literally the perfect opportunity!”

“GO!” Eren screamed, leaning forward as if to make his vehicle go faster.

“Eren, are you even listening?” Armin asked, and then started waving his hand in front of Eren’s face. This turned out to be a big mistake since it only inspired Eren to make a beeline for the floor so that he could sit directly in front of the TV.

“If my time runs out I swear . . .”

Armin rolled his eyes and bypassed Eren to shut off the Xbox. For a moment Eren continued pushing buttons, but upon realizing the screen was black, wide eyes focused on Armin’s bored ones in utter disgust.

“You traitor . . . do you realize what you’ve done?”

“And do _you_ realize that we’re in college now and can’t spend our entire summers playing video games?”

“Summer break just started _today,_ Armin! Yet here you are at my house pestering me about something that doesn’t matter!”

Armin sighed, though not defeated just yet. “Eren, you’re my best friend and I’m trying to help you. We’re going to need experience under our belts for when we apply for jobs in the future.”

“We’re only nineteen!! I’m not getting a job anytime soon and neither are you!” Eren argued.

By now his hands had grown so sweaty from the thought of having to redo that timed mission over again and the remote slipped from his hands and fell loudly to the floor. He quickly picked it back up and apologized to it, promising that he and his remote would have plenty of quality time together once Armin left.

The blond shook his head slowly and deliberately, eyes downcast on the mess of tan limbs on the floor he called his best friend.

“Pathetic.”

“Good. Then leave.”

“Nice try. What I was saying earlier is that A&E Corporation is hiring interns for the summer and you and I are going to apply.”

“But –

“This is perfect for us since I’m a business major and you’re an economics major.”

“Okay, but –

“And it pays $16 an hour, Eren. We’re not going to find better paying positions than that.”

“Consider _this_ –

“And they’re holding open interviews tomorrow so be ready because we need to be there at 9 A.M.”

“ARMIN!” Eren yelled. “Wait!”

Armin nodded and stood patiently. He would give Eren a chance to weasel his way out of this one, but the blonde was dead set on not allowing Eren to pass up the opportunity. He’d already gotten Mikasa, Eren’s adopted sister and finance major to agree to also apply, and when he brought up presenting to idea to Eren, she’d decided to leave the convincing up to him. Eren was as stubborn as a mule when it came to hard work and discipline, and God forbid anyone advise the brunette about what he _should_ do – often times Eren loved to do the opposite and would do so on purpose just to be spiteful.

No, Eren Yeager was _not_ ready to grow up yet, but that was just too bad. His two friends were on route to growing up and they weren’t going to leave him behind.

“Sooo,” Eren drawled. “I actually . . . have a dentist appointment tomorrow.”

“Try again, liar.”

“I don’t have a ride.”

Armin shook his head. “I talked to your mom and she’s more than happy to allow you to borrow her car. If you don’t want to drive, either myself or Mikasa can drive you.”

Eren’s mouth dropped open at the news. “Her too??”

“Yes Eren. It’s called being an adult!”

“But I don’t want to be an adult!” Eren whined. He tried to show a little sincerity as well by abandoning his controller and slinking over to the couch to get back into his imprint. “On a serious note, I don’t think I’m ready for this. I’ve only had one year of economics and I’ve barely mastered Excel. I want to work in statistics, but I have zero knowledge as of right now. I’d be useless.”

Armin joined Eren on the couch, still hopeful about convincing Eren to apply. “That’s what the company wants, Eren. They want blank slates that are impressionable and trainable. It’s okay if you don’t have any working knowledge. All you need is an interest and a passion. They’ll take care of the rest, and everything they’ll ask you to do, they’ll explain first. That’s what it means to be an intern.”

“Okay,” Eren sighed. “But what if I’m not good?”

“Then they’ll let you go, but I doubt that will happen. You’re not as incompetent as you think you are.”

“Armin, you clearly don’t know me. One time when I was drunk I threw a cup of juice onto my bed instead of my phone.”

“Oh yeah,” Armin reminisced, snickering at the memory. “You were pretty upset about that weren’t you?”

“Upset doesn’t even cover it. I cried like a baby.”

“That’s why you shouldn’t get drunk. Drinking is fine, but getting drunk is a no-no.”

“I know that now, but Eren Yeager doesn’t learn from his mistakes very well,” Eren proclaimed, trying not to sound proud of such a negative trait.

“You’ll get better at learning from your mistakes,” Armin promised. “It’s part of growing up.”

“I guess . . .”

“And you know what else is part of growing up?”

“Getting a job as an intern with Armin and Mikasa and A&E Corporation?”

Armin smiled, reaching up to ruffle Eren’s hair. “That’s the spirit!”

“By the way, knowing my propensity to drink, is it wise for me to work there? Isn't it a brewery? I’ll be in my element, you know.”

Armin smiled knowingly. “This is the corporate office, Eren. The headquarters if you will. They don’t make any beer there. Sorry.”

Eren groaned at his loss of what could have probably been a magical thing and attempted to sink further into his hole. “So 9 A.M. right? When I should be sleeping?”

“Correct. Want me to come get you and Mikasa?”

Eren nodded. “You’ll have to. I’ll be too tired to drive . . . and I’ll probably have a nasty hangover.”

“Don’t you dare sabotage yourself! This is a huge opportunity and the chance of a lifetime and if you don’t try your best then I’ll tell Mikasa and you know what she’ll do to you and don’t ask me for help because –

“I won’t!” Eren laughed. “Where is Mikasa anyways?”

“Um, she’s _your_ sister.”

“Yeah, but with it being summer and all I kind of slept until four in the afternoon so it’s entirely possible that she’s on the other side of the country by now and I would have no idea.”

Armin sighed and dramatically fell back against the couch. “Erennnn, what am I going to do with you?”

“Love me.”

“Go love yourself.”

“Best advice you’ve had all day,” Eren said, getting up and turning his Xbox back on. He flashed a handsome smile over his shoulder at Armin who was still flopped out on the couch. “If you get up, can you go into the kitchen and get me another 2-liter bottle of Dr. Pepper? I’m parched.”

“If I come back with anything it’s going to be a psychiatrist so that you can talk to someone about your addiction.”

“So . . . no Dr. Pepper?”

Armin sighed deeply. “I’ll get it. It’s the least I can do for you since you agreed to come to the interview tomorrow.”

“Thanks babeeeee.”

Eren resumed his game once Armin left, but thanks to his pep-talk about growing up and getting a job, Eren couldn’t fully get back into it. His mind was too busy entertaining the idea of having to get up everyday and go to . . . _work._ Sometimes he didn’t get Armin and Mikasa. Yes, he admired their drive to work hard and be successful, but wasn’t it too early in life to be chasing such aspirations? Eren had just learned how to wash his own clothes and Armin and Mikasa were already prepared to get real office jobs. Granted, Eren supposed an internship was different from a full-blown job, but it still couldn’t be easy work. Not only that, but he didn’t feel qualified. In fact, he was exceptionally _unqualified_ since he’d never worked a day in his life. Armin and Mikasa had both managed to hold down jobs at their local movie theater almost all throughout high-school while Eren couldn’t even be bothered to do his homework. His parents had tried to get him involved in extra-curricular activities but he was too much of a sore loser to play sports, he was too impatient to play games like chess or Dungeons and Dragons, and he was too tone-deaf to play any instruments. The only thing he was good at was sitting around and playing video games . . .

Actually, that wasn’t true. Due to his being home all the time his mother made him cook and clean when she wasn’t able to, so he did have _some_ skills, but other than that, he was pretty useless. Unfortunately it hadn’t bothered him until now. Just thinking about wearing nice clothing and going into an office setting where he was expected to actually _work hard_ was intimidating to him. Mikasa and Armin always passed off this 'if we can do it so can you' narrative, but Eren wasn’t so sure. He wasn’t anything special. He was just an ordinary kid who probably played too many video games, didn’t get enough Vitamin D, and ate way too much pizza.

But . . . he was pretty passionate about statistics and enjoyed analyzing data and looking for trends. If he was allowed to work with things he enjoyed, he would at least express an interest in learning. Maybe that would be good enough? After all, he wasn’t _dumb._ Lazy, uncoordinated, and probably a little bratty? Yes. But dumb? No.

In the end, he supposed all he could do was try his best. If he got hired, great: Armin and Mikasa would be so proud and happy and they could all be together during the summer since there wasn’t a chance in hell they _wouldn’t_ get hired. But if he didn’t get hired, well . . . his friends would be disappointed. Armin would try to urge him to get another job, Mikasa would probably urge him to get a hobby, and his parents would constantly harass him about how bad it is to lay in bed all day. However, once they were done pestering him all day, at least he could play GTA V until is eyeballs burned out of his skull from staring at the TV. Speaking of GTA V, he should really get back to it. After all, these timed missions aren’t going to complete themselves.

* * *

Levi sat quietly in his office nursing a cup a tea that was still piping hot. Over the years he’d found it rather inconvenient to walk down eight flights of stairs to the community kitchen just to make a cup of tea. The long walk had thus inspired him to bring to the tea to his office, meaning he’d set up a quaint little tea station in the corner of the large room, complete with a minifridge, and a nice, dark brown oak table on which sat all of his favorite types of teas, a tea diffuser, tea cups, and an electric kettle. Though he never showed it, he was quite proud of his little area. He enjoyed spending time by it and inhaling the the rich scent of Darjeeling and Assam every time he opened his office door.

To this day, Hange badgered him about his refusal to leave his office once he stepped into the building everyday at 7:30 A.M. sharp, but that’s why his door had a lock on it. Levi wasn’t sure what was worse though: actually having Hange in his office talking his ear off or having Hange right outside of his office breathing loudly and making creepy comments such as, “I can hear you breathing, Levi”. Even now he could feel their presence – the floor always seemed to rumble as soon as they stepped foot out of the elevator. And Levi’s office was always their first stop.

Already thoroughly worn out from a long day of work, the wearied man sat his teacup down on its accompanying saucer and watched the liquid inside dance around the cup. Yup, Hange was coming for sure.

“LEVI.”

He couldn’t even be startled from their sudden voice on the other side of his door.

“Leeeeviiii, open up! Hange has news! LEVI? Levi, I know you’re in there. Levi, Levi, Levi, Levi, Le-AHHH!”

As Hange collided with the floor, Levi stepped over them and headed back to his desk, intent on sitting back down and continuing to enjoy his tea. It was the end of the day and although work was technically over, he sometimes liked to hang around and enjoy a cup of tea before going home. He could also avoid five o’clock traffic by doing so, but it almost wasn’t worth it with Hange stopping by to annoy him every day. The fact that someone could always have so much to say to someone else, _every single day_ , still blew his mind.

“You just gonna lay there all day or do you have something to tell me, idiot,” Levi grunted. Even though he constantly insulted Hange by calling them an idiot, a shithead, a dumbass, and every other curse under the sun, he never seriously meant it. After all, Hange was his . . . (kind of) friend. 

Immediately bouncing back from their fall, Hange was up and in front of Levi’s desk within milliseconds. “Ooh, that’s the longest sentence you’ve said all day!”

“Tch, don’t get used to it. Whatever gets you out of my office faster.”

“Aww, Levi! Don’t be such a grump! You’d better cheer up because tomorrow you’re gonna have to do that thing with your face that you hate doing!”

Levi didn’t answer positively, and he wouldn't because he already knew what his coworker was referring to. _“No.”_

“Come on Levi! We’re expecting a huge turnout! You’re not gonna leave Erwin and I to interview all of those young folks, are you??”

“You don’t need me there. I’ve got work to do. The whole damn company can’t just shut down for interviews.”

“But it’ll go much faster if you’re there!” Hange whined, leaning over on Levi’s desk in a way they knew the man hated.

“Off,” Levi growled, thinking about the hand-prints they were going to leave behind. “And I don’t want a shitty little intern.”

“Okay, you may not, but at lot of these young adults want the experience! Who knows? We may want to hire some of them back once they graduate from college!”

“These aren’t young adults. They’re kids. And I don’t do kids.”

“We know Grumpy, we know.”

Levi began quickly drinking his tea lest it get cold, and Hange continued to stare at him with their giant, doe eyes, hoping to at least receive some sort of consent on tomorrow’s intended plans. Though they were coworkers and saw each other as equals, Levi was technically Hange’s superior being a co-CEO. Things like this didn’t need his approval though. His co-CEO Erwin had just as much authority as he did over _all_ matters, and he was allowed to grant his approval on hosting open interviews.

However, Levi could technically override his decision should he desire to do so, but he wouldn’t. While he’d never admit it, he had a bad habit of impulsively firing people for little errors, and the company could use some extra hands. The problem was that those extra hands should belong to no one younger than thirty in his opinion. This was a corporate office, not a daycare.

“Anything else you need to tell me?” Levi asked, running a hand through his hair to get it out of his face. He was starting to get noticeably agitated at this point. OCD was telling him that his usual time of leaving the office was approaching and he was ready to go.

“Will you please be there to help out with interviews tomorrow?” Hange begged, clasping their hands together in anticipation. “Puh-leeeeeeasseeeee?”

“No.”

The older man stood and put on his suit jacket before heading downstairs to the kitchen with the intent of washing his cup. Hange was behind him whining about his refusal to help with the fiasco tomorrow, but Levi ignored them in favor of his own thoughts. Hange knew that he was here every day at 7:30 A.M. Hange also knew that it wasn’t like him to just completely skip out on any company event, no matter how boring and unnecessary he thought it was. He _might_ stop by downstairs to size up any of the brats and see if any of them had the potential he was looking for, but other than that, he wasn’t interested in getting to know any of them. He would be able to pick out those that were worthy within seconds, and if he was up to it, he might pass on a suggestion or two to Hange and Erwin about who  _they_ should hire as well.

That is, if he bothered to leave his office at all. He had plenty of phone calls to return and reports to annotate and review.

“ . . . right Levi?”

“Have you been talking this whole time?” Levi asked, entering the kitchen with Hange hot on his heels.

“Jeez, you really are a brute until you’ve had your fix of _90 Day Fiancé_ ,” Hange murmured.

“I don’t watch that fucking trash,” Levi hissed. “That’s Petra’s shit.”

Hange narrowed their eyes in disbelief. “She told me you watched an episode with her though.”

“Tch. I don’t remember that.”

“Now you know better than to lie, Grumpy.”

“And you know better than to tease your boss. I’ll fire you.”

Hange laughed, boisterously and loudly, and even dared to clap a hand onto Levi’s shoulder. “You would never. You worship me.”

“You’re pushing it.”

Finally they relented, sauntering towards the entrance of the kitchen as if Levi would miss them. “Fine, I’ll leave you alone. I’m going to see if Erwin has left yet and if he’s still here I’ll just harass him instead. Bye byeeee!”

After taking care of washing his teacup, Levi headed back upstairs where he placed it in its proper spot before grabbing his briefcase and making a beeline for the exit. It was nearing six-thirty which was slightly later than he usually liked to leave, and by now he was truly starving. Being busy all day meant that he didn’t have time for proper meals and often ate sporadically throughout the day. Usually lunch was provided by potential clients who were interested in merging or attempting to convince them to open up a subsidiary overseas in their country. Of course, this was all for the sake of creating jobs, but a businessman like Levi knew better than to consider subsidiaries in just _any_ country. Already they had one in the works to open in Hong Kong within the next year and after crunching the numbers, Levi was more than excited to reel in a nice chunk of change due to taking advantage of the overly large market and storing all of the income made in Hong Kong banks to avoid paying taxes on it.

It wasn’t illegal to do so of course, and all smart businessmen did it. Why pay taxes on income earned if you can avoid it?

Levi could vividly remember learning about how businesses managed to earn so much income back when he was a student taking an international economics class for the first time. It was then that he decided to become an economics major and he quickly became friends with Erwin who was a business major and economics minor. Later Levi decided to double major in economics and accounting, and even added a business minor to his workload. From there he’d attended grad school to get a master’s degree in econometrics, and with no problem he’d quickly turned it into a PhD. He was glad that he’d minored in business and had taken so many extra business classes on the side, because it felt good to sometimes put Erwin in his place when it came to the managerial aspects of their company.

However, Erwin had social and interpersonal intellect that Levi could never hope to have. Without him, Levi surely would have crashed and burned trying to start his own business. It was even Erwin’s idea to become a brewery for the simple reason being that “everybody likes beer”. Levi had thought it was a ridiculous idea, insisting on performing extensive research to find out what was permeating the market, but Erwin had told him to trust him. And so he did, and now they were a multi million-dollar corporation. When it came to face-to-face negotiations with other competitors, he and Erwin argued well together using a “good cop bad cop” style (with Levi being the bad cop in almost every scenario) and it worked every time.

Due to the nature of the interviews and the age of the children that would be applying tomorrow, Levi had definitely thought it best that Erwin handle as much of the process as possible. While Levi knew himself to be inept when it came to things like this, especially when it came to the young, impressionable, and easily offended youth, he wasn’t too embarrassed by his inability to properly communicate with them.

If anything, he felt a bit smug about it. After all, it wasn’t his fault he was so intelligent and sophisticated that he couldn’t hold a conversation with a bratty, Xbox playing, pizza eating, moron . . .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since the manga doesn't seem to address Hange with a gendered pronoun, I've decided to use they/them pronouns for Hange. Also, because this story is third person omniscient and will switch between many different POVs, I've decided to have Eren, Mikasa, Armin, and any other character in this age range refer to Hange as "Hanji" in order to provide clarity about who is talking and from which point of view the story is being told. Levi, Erwin, Petra, or any other adult will use "Hange" to refer to Hange. Also, I will always default to the spelling "Hange" whenever the story is being told from their point of view.
> 
> Please forgive any spelling mistakes! I try my best to catch them but sometimes they just manage to slip by me.


	2. Chapter 2

The building was _packed_. In fact, it was so full that everyone was receiving an assigned number as if they were all auditioning for _American Idol_. Eren couldn’t believe that so many people had showed up. And it wasn’t just young people that were there either - Eren was definitely sure he saw people older than his parents walking around with numbers stuck on their chests. He was number 76 and damn grateful for the high number too, because it bought him some time to think about how he was going to respond to questions. He’d never been interviewed for anything in his _life_ so he had no idea what to expect. Even though Armin and Mikasa had prepped him and had given him a rough idea of what types of questions would be asked, Eren still lacked confidence in his ability to answer. 

“You’ll do fine Eren,” Mikasa assured him, and even leaned her head on his shoulder in what was probably supposed to be a calming gesture. Thankfully it did calm him down, and Eren reciprocated the action in return.

“Thanks ‘Kas. Still pretty nervous though. What if –

“Guys, _look_ at these pamphlets!” Armin nearly screamed, shoving the tri-folded pieces of paper in Eren’s and Mikasa’s faces. “They’ve got all the information one could need about how the company started, who started it, and when it was started! I’m going to read it once and memorize it and use it to supplement my interview!”

“Shut up Armin,” Eren whined, weakly slapping the piece of paper out of his face. “You’re over here memorizing entire pamphlets and I can’t even remember what I had for breakfast thirty minutes ago . . .”

Armin frowned. “Isn’t it normal to read something once and then remember it?”

“I used to think it was, but not everyone has that ability unfortunately,” Mikasa explained.

Eren quietly seethed to himself and instead focused his view on the bustling workplace before him. People who Eren already assumed worked here were running around with clipboards assigning numbers and taking names and putting people in groups and already Eren felt stressed. He’d hoped that this entire process wouldn’t take more than thirty minutes, but at this point they’d been sitting around and waiting for what felt like an hour. There seemed to be a constant stream of people entering and exiting the building and he felt as though he, Armin, and Mikasa were somehow the only ones sitting down, patiently waiting for their turn.

“You realize that with all of these people interviewing I have no chance, right?” Eren asked. “I have _zero_ on my resume. Why the hell would they hire me when there are a bunch of old people here who've probably been working all their lives?”

“Because this is an _internship_ ,” Armin said before glancing around. “Although it _is_ strange that so many older people are here.”

“It is,” Mikasa agreed. “Perhaps they’re here for the $16 an hour? Or maybe they hope to be hired on as permanent?”

“That’s probably it. Though when I called, the woman who I talked with on the phone referred to this as a summer internship only.”

“Can I go home yet?”

“NO!” Mikasa and Armin shouted, and Eren poked his bottom lip out in defeat.

“At least _try_ ,” Mikasa begged. “And make a good impression. I know you can.”

“I’ve never even made an impression ever,” Eren muttered.

Armin frowned. “If you worry about it so much you’re going to psyche yourself out. You’ll do great. I promise.”

“But what if –

“Okay, attention everyone!”

Eren’s attention was drawn to a short woman with red hair and golden eyes standing on an elevated platform. Her red hair was tied back into a bun on the back of her head and she was wearing a dark blue pencil skirt and a white blouse with ruffles on the sleeves. Though she was wearing heels she still appeared to be short, and she struggled to assert her presence in a bustling room of rowdy interviewees. She had been the one to assign Eren his number and she was really kind and sweet about it. Eren figured that if he got to work with people like her, an internship here wouldn’t be so bad.

“We’re actually going to split you all into groups! Each of you _will_ receive a one-on-one interview with one of our employees that specializes in your field. So can we ask that current college majors or those that have worked in accounting, finance, economics, business and management, and human resources, please separate into groups? Your interviewer will take you into a meeting room where they will sit you down and talk to each of you separately in another room. Thank you all for your cooperation.”

Eren was already lost. “What was the point of the numbers then?”

“I guess they thought that initially it would be easier to just give us numbers and interview us that way, but since so many people showed up, they figured it would just be better to separate us by skills and interests,” Mikasa offered. “I’m sure that they’ll still use the numbers as a guide of who to interview first.”

Armin had already run off excitedly to find his group and Mikasa gave Eren one last hug before walking off to find fellow finance majors and workers. Eren looked around before making his way into the crowd, trying to overhear people talking so that he could get an idea of which group had congregated where. He was too nervous to ask anyone, especially because everyone looked older and more professional than he did. He was dressed nicely – he was wearing black skinny jeans, nice shoes, a light blue button-up shirt and a heather grey blazer. He’d also made an effort to tame his bedhead hair, but in the end it still managed to look pretty wild and unruly. Although, it was the thought that counted (maybe).

He eventually overheard someone on his left talking about how their group was the smallest one out of all and someone responded by asking why there were so few economics majors nowadays. Immediately he made his way to the group as if pulled by a gravitational force. There were about fifteen people standing there, most of them older, but he thought he recognized someone that could be his age. However, Eren could read people pretty well and he could tell right away that this horse face wasn’t interested in being his friend.

“MAN, this is taking so long!” the guy said, arms crossed and foot tapping impatiently.

“Like you have anywhere to be,” Eren huffed quietly.

Immediately the predator whipped around and fixed his gaze upon Eren. “Excuse me? What did you say? You know, I go to private school!”

Eren shrugged. “Good for horse face. I go to public school.”

“Horse face?! I’ll have you know this is the face of Jean the III!”

“You come from a line of horses named Jean?”

“Shouldn’t you be taking orders at Taco Bell?!”

“Shouldn’t you be munching on some hay?!”

“Boys, boys,” a much older woman chastised, placing one hand on each of their shoulders. “There is a time and a place for everything and this is not the time, nor the place.”

Jean rolled his eyes before turning his back on the pair. “Whatever. I’ll see you all out when you fail your interviews.”

Eren growled but was again interrupted by a man approaching their group. Thinking that this was the man that was going to interview them, Eren immediately straightened up like a soldier in the military. He was shit with his words, but he could at least stand up straight and look nice!

“This way,” was all that was said to them as tall man in a business suit led them towards a staircase. After ascending the staircase the group made its way down a hallway and then took a left into a large meeting room with about 40 seats, which was more than enough to support their group of about fifteen. Eren took the seat furthest away from the horse face and obediently looked at the man that commanded all of the attention in the room.

He was sure that this wasn’t some lowly office worker at the company. He had enough prestige to run it, and in order to make the best impression, Eren felt that it was in his best interest to treat this man as if he _did_ run the company. Indeed, he was quite intimidating with his narrow eyes, angular nose, sharp jawline, and thin lips drawn into the most indifferent frown Eren had ever seen. Jet black hair fell rather softly across his forehead, but it led into a serious no-nonsense undercut near the back of his head. He would not be fooled – this man meant business and Eren couldn’t rely on his sense of humor to weasel his way through this one.

“I’ll make this quick,” the man mumbled, steely eyes scanning over everyone in the room. “You, you, you, and . . . you. Everyone else go home.”

Wait.

That was it?

Eren watched as Jean stood up happily along with three other women and they began a game of follow the leader into a small room connected to the one they were currently in. He looked around him at everyone else, all of whom looked disappointed and upset. But no one was angry or bewildered.

Well, no one except him.

“Excuse me??” Eren asked, standing up fluidly and proudly. He may not really deserve a position here, but he didn’t come all of this way to get sent home without an interview. “Why don’t I get interviewed? UH HELLO??”

Slowly the icy man turned around to gaze at him as if he were nothing more than the dirt on the bottom of his shoe. “Puppies shouldn’t bark so loud.”

Eren was appalled as the man continued to walk away and allowing that comment slip so that he didn’t lose his cool right then and there, he stalked right up to the group and got in line to follow everyone.

“Where do you think you’re going??” Jean asked, hands itching to physically push Eren out of the room.

“I’m going to get interviewed!” Eren cried. “This is ridiculous!”

“You didn’t get chosen!”

“I at least want an interview!”

Jean rolled his eyes and smirked spitefully, enjoying the look of frustration upon Eren’s face. “Dr. Ackerman can tell you aren’t worthy of the position. Accept it.”

“Me and those people out there all deserve a chance.”

“What people? They already left!”

Eren’s eyes widened and he turned around to find that the meeting room was indeed empty. Instead of staying and fighting for a position, everyone had all merely run away with their tails between their legs. It was actually pretty disturbing too, since Eren knew that out of everyone that ran away, he was the one that deserved to leave the most. He had no experience, skills, or a real work ethic at all. He got that. He _understood_ that, and he wanted to make sure whoever hired him understood that as well. But out of everyone here, Eren also knew that he had the strongest desire to be useful!

He was also the most stubborn – _no one_ turned him away, especially when he was _promised_ a chance!

And he damn sure wanted whoever hired him to understand that too!

Meanwhile Levi was sitting bored and highly uninterested at a mahogany desk. The three women had already seated themselves and were patiently waiting. The only things that were holding them up were Numbers 54 and 76.

“I don’t have all day,” Levi grunted, eyeing Number 54 and mentally ordering the kid to just sit down.

It seemed to work since Number 54 immediately whipped around and gave him his full and honest attention. He nodded obediently before making his way over to the table to take a seat. “Yes sir, Dr. Ackerman.”

“Number 76, please make your way towards the nearest exit and close your door on the way out,” Levi ordered before turning to potential hires. “I trust that you’ve all submitted your resumes online and –

“My name is Eren,” Eren growled, viciously slamming the door behind him. “And I’m not going anywhere.”

Levi narrowed his eyes, finally growing cross with the brat. “Get out.”

_“No.”_

“I’m not wasting my time on a little shit like you. _Get. Out._ ”

“I was promised an interview.”

“Then go get interviewed by someone else. If I’m taking an intern, I don’t want it to be a brat like you who can’t even follow simple instructions. OUT!”

Jean and the other three women cowered as Levi stood aggressively, as if trying to dominate the area and scare Eren out of the room by using some sort of invisible force. But Eren wasn’t intimidated. He stood rooted in his spot, arms crossed and a frown marring his face.

“You can’t just _look_ at people and tell that they’re right for the job!” Eren argued.

The atmosphere in the room grew heavy and dark in an instant. The scowl on Levi’s face was etched so deep it could have been permanent given how natural it looked. Eren could guess that he would probably see a lot that hellish look given he got a position with the company, but nothing could scare him now. The adrenaline was rushing through him so intensely he could hear his heartbeat in his ears. His mouth had gone dry and his fists were clenched at his sides. He would not leave defeated.

“Yes I can,” Levi spoke with tenacity, his tone leaving no room for argument. “You wouldn’t do me or anyone else here at his company any good. I can see it on your face.”

“All you should see on my face is raw determination! I’m not leaving _Dr._ Ackerman! In fact, I’m not leaving until I hear your mouth tell me that I’m hired!”

“Well you’ll be waiting a long, _fucking_ time because that’s _never_ going to happen. A little shit like you who doesn’t have two nickels to rub together thinks he can invade _my_ business, _my_ empire, and tell _me_ what to do? What a _moron_.”

Eren momentarily dropped his façade at learning that this was the guy the _owned_ the company . . . so much for _complaining_ to the guy who owned the company. As a matter of fact, what happened to his promise of treating this man as if he ran the place? Now that Eren put two and two together . . . A&E Corporation . . . Dr. _A_ ckerman . . . it all made sense.

“Not so tough now are you, brat?”

“I _want_ to work here!” Eren begged, trying a different approach. “My friends are also applying and I’m sure that they’re going to get hired and they’re counting on me to get hired too so that we can enjoy our summer together! I’m an economics major in school with a passion for data analytics and I really want the opportunity to explore that field more in depth at your company! I don’t have any skills, or work experience, but I’m highly trainable and I promise to work on anything I’m assigned, not with reckless abandon like some might, but with perseverance and dedication. I promise I’ll work hard, I just need a chance to prove it!”

Levi nodded earnestly, eyes wide and interested, almost as if he was considering the proposal. “Very persuasive Number 76. Anything else?”

“Um . . . no.”

Quickly all expression was lost on the man’s face. “Great. Then get out.”

This time Eren’s body moved on its own and he finally shuffled out of the room, closing the door dejectedly behind him. What a disaster. Not only had he ruined his chances of getting hired with the company, but he’d made a complete ass of himself after he promised Armin and Mikasa he wouldn’t. He knew he was supposed to act kind and submissive in situations like this, but he couldn’t help himself, especially not when the person hiring him refused to give him a chance just because of the way he looked. He briefly considered the fact that perhaps Dr. Ackerman just didn’t bother with people who he thought were ugly, but that couldn’t be true if he was interviewing _Jean_. Eren knew he wasn’t a model, but up against Jean he probably looked like Aphrodite! He could hear that horse neighing on the other side of the door and it made him physically ill. Why? Why couldn’t Dr. Ackerman see how serious he was? Yes, he was hotheaded and had a temper and was rude and probably shouldn’t have been so argumentative and bratty _BUT_ . . . he was trying. He really wanted this job.

Perhaps Eren had been so hard on himself because he was attempting to cushion the blow for when he got rejected. Evidently it didn’t work because he felt _horrible._ Seriously he could throw up right now. To not even be considered based off of some strange filter Dr. Ackerman had that he couldn’t figure out was . . . really painful. He didn’t know the man personally or anything, but Eren had wanted to make a good impression, even if the guy seemed to have a vendetta against him. A part of him didn’t want to care if someone so grumpy and hateful didn’t like him, but another part of him was saddened by the rejection. Everyone was going to be told no at some point in their life, but Eren didn’t think that his time would come so soon . . . at his very first interview.

A buzzing sensation in his pocket brought him out of his thoughts and a message from Mikasa popped up on the screen.

Eren swiftly opened his phone to read it and the words made him feel numb.

 **Mikasa** : _Got it. What about you two?_

Staring at the phone blankly, Eren willed Armin not to respond any time soon or else he really _would_ throw up. Unfortunately, not even this small request could be granted.

 **Armin** : _Yup. Eren?_

Seriously? Well . . . he knew there was a good chance that they’d get hired but . . . no, he didn’t want to entertain that evil, jealous side of himself. He wouldn’t give it the time of day. He would be happy for his friends. They deserved this.

“I got the jooooobbbbb. I got the jooooobbbb! I got the jooooobbbbb!!!”

But _that_ asshole certainly didn’t deserve it.

“You’re _still_ here?” Jean chuckled, dancing happily around the room. “You’d better leave or Dr. Ackerman might call security on you.”

“I’m not leaving until he hires me,” Eren grumbled, intentionally trying to be stubborn. It pissed him off to no end to see Jean happily dancing around the room, and to his utter amazement, Jean even pompously bragged to the other three women who left the room without jobs. At this point Eren was beginning to wonder if he’d been done a favor by not getting hired by Dr. Ackerman. Any man who saw something in an asshole like Jean probably wasn’t worth working for.

The door opened and Eren watched Dr. Ackerman walk out, completely ignoring him in favor of talking to Jean about his hours and availability. Feeling betrayed by people he didn’t even know, Eren shot up and practically ran out of the room. _Now_ he felt like he was going to cry. What a horrible business filled with horrible people. He couldn’t believe he tried to get a job here. What a waste of time today has been. He should just go back to playing Xbox because that’s what he was good at! No, Eren didn’t have time to be around pompous, stuck up, arrogant –

In his angry tirade out of the room and down the hallway he’d managed to crash into someone, sending them both to the floor in a painful fall. This is what he got for stomping around with tears in his eyes! Why was he so stupid?! Papers had flown everywhere in the collision and he could hear a pained groan coming from beside him. Quickly Eren sat up and went to help the person he’d accidentally taken down and probably injured due to his idiocy.

“Oww, that’s the second time my body has collided with the floor in less than twenty-four hours . . .”

“I’m really sorry,” Eren apologized, unsure as to whether or not he should collect the papers or assist the frazzled looking worker. “I’m pretty clumsy.”

“That’s okay! I am too, kid! Sometimes I think it’s the glasses.”

Their cheerful voice immediately had a positive effect on Eren, and without even meaning to he found himself hurrying to pick up the papers for them. But before Eren could hand the papers over, the person had swooped down and quickly pulled him to his feet so fast that it had almost been disorienting.

“Your name?”

“Me? Eren.”

“Well, Eren, you can call me Hanji! No Miss or Mister, just Hanji! I’m the director of the human resources department!”

Eren smiled, liking Hanji already. Hanji was definitely a carefree spirit as far as Eren could tell, with wild hair pulled up in a high ponytail in what was probably an effort to make it look presentable. Although they wore thick glasses, Eren could see kindness and acceptance in their large brown eyes. Eren noticed that Hanji had quite the androgynous appearance as well. They wore what was clearly a men’s grey polo shirt tucked into black jeans that were held up by an unmistakable Gucci belt. Hanji also wore nice leather dress shoes – way nicer than his – although strangely enough, they also sported nice, French manicured nails. He could tell Hanji was eccentric, and Eren appreciated that trait in a person, especially after dealing with those who shall not be named.

“Did you just come from an interview?” Hanji asked curiously, graciously accepting the papers that Eren had scooped together and attempted to organize.

“Uh . . . yeah. With Dr. Ackerman. I didn’t get the job though.”

Immediately a smile broke out across Hanji’s face. “I think I know why.”

“W-why?!” Eren demanded roughly. He quickly reigned himself in though. There was no need to be upset with Hanji about it.

Again, Hanji gave Eren a strange, almost knowing smile. “I’ll tell you what, cutie. _I’ll_ hire you!”

Eren was stunned into silence by the offer. Obviously, he was accepting the position because he could feel his head nodding up and down, but he was too stunned to make his mouth work in tandem. All he knew was that Hanji had swung their arm around him and placed their head on his shoulder comfortingly.

“I think we’ll get along _just_ fine, Eren!”

“Thank you, Hanji . . . this means a lot to me.”

“It means a lot to me too, Eren.”

Initially Eren was unsure as of what that meant, but the smile on Hanji’s face told him not to worry about it. In fact, he wasn’t going to worry about anything anymore. He was going to tell his friends that he got offered a position at the company, and even though it wasn’t in the area he wanted it to be in, that didn’t matter to him at all. He’d much rather work with Hanji anyways – at least he wouldn’t wake up every day dreading work!

* * *

“What a successful day,” Erwin announced to the room full of employees. “There were some great applicants in the business department.”

“Out of everyone you only hired two people,” Olou scoffed, throwing back the remaining black coffee in his cup. “There had to be, what, over three hundred people trying to get an internship?”

“I only hire those who I would feel comfortable allowing to run the corporation in my absence.”

“Don’t get crazy,” Levi mumbled. “These are still children.”

Petra smiled devilishly before jamming her elbow into Levi’s side. “Heard you hired someone.”

“Yeah I did. What of it?”

“It’s just funny when you were _so_ hell-bent on not even showing up to ‘spend your valuable time interviewing someone’,” Petra teased, still refusing to remove her elbow from her superiors’ side. “Hange told me _all_ about it.”

“Go annoy Olou if you want to be a pain.”

Olou rolled his eyes at the pair. “Tch, I don’t want any part of your love fest . . .”

“I hired _three_ people,” Hange proudly added, obtaining a few “oohs” and “ahhs” from their peers. “Two human resource majors and one economics major.”

When their statement didn’t get the desired effect, Hange pushed the subject more. They weren't letting Levi escape so easily.

“Their names are Christa, Marco, and Eren. Poor Eren was crying because his hero Dr. Ackerman wouldn’t hire him so I had to scoop him up!”

Petra gasped. “Levi, is this true?”

“Levi is free to hire who he wants,” Erwin chuckled. “I obviously trust his judgment. He would never hire anybody he didn’t see as fit enough to work here.”

“Damn right,” Levi agreed, trying hard to read the expression on Hange’s face. “That little shit stain Eren wouldn’t last a day working under me. Walked up in here all cocky, telling me he wouldn’t leave until I hired him. What a dickhead.”

“Kids are pretty bold nowadays huh?” Eld added slowly. He too was swirling around the remnants of his cup of coffee.

As always, Petra spoke up as the mediator and voice of reason in the conversation. “All of the kids I met today were as pleasant as could be. If you respect them, they respect you! That’s all there is to it! And you know, I think I remember a boy telling me his name was Eren. He had blue eyes I think?”

“I think they’re green,” Hange commented and then focused their gaze on Levi. “Levi, do you happen to remember?”

“Why are we talking about his eyes?” Levi huffed lowly, directing the conversation towards something that was actually important. “We _should_ be discussing the assignments we’re going to be giving these brats. My intern needs certain tasks to complete because this is apparently going to give him credits at school. Never heard of such a thing.”

“I think I’m familiar with that,” Erwin mused. “You’ll probably be getting contacted by the school. You might have fill out and sign a few papers.”

Levi groaned. “What the fuck?”

Hange shook their head in disappointment. “Should have hired the cutie with the green eyes.”

Levi felt a headache coming on. Eyebrows furrowed, he flopped back into his seat and crossed his arms tightly over his chest. Really, he shouldn’t have hired anyone. But thank _God_ he hadn’t hired Eren with the blue-green-with-flecks-of-gold-in-them eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

Levi wasn’t at all surprised that Jean was exceptional when it came to the work he was assigned. The kid possessed the finesse and unarguable set of skills that just couldn’t be ignored. Every assignment to be completed, every report to be analyzed, every set of data to be interpreted, Jean finished within a reasonable amount of time and completed with decent accuracy. He wasn’t perfect, and Levi had to double check everything which was to be expected, but he wasn’t at all unimpressed with Jean’s work. He _knew_ he’d do a great job and that’s why he picked him out of the crowd of people.

“Good. You can go home for the day,” Levi said, relinquishing Jean of his duties.

“A-already Dr. Ackerman? But it’s only one o’clock.”

Levi shrugged. “You’ve done everything that I had planned for you to do.”

“What about getting a head start on tomorrow’s work?” Jean asked, entirely too hopeful for an opportunity to stick around.

“Tomorrow’s work is for tomorrow. Are you trying to stay extra hours for more pay? Because I promise you that that isn’t going to happen. Leave and clock out. _Now._ ”

Jean hung his head in defeat and obediently left Dr. Ackerman’s office. Everything he’d completed he’d done with ease. As a junior attending a private college, his knowledge and skills far surpassed what Dr. Ackerman probably expected from him. He supposed that in order to prove his worth so that he could be entrusted with more assignments, he’d just have to follow orders and listen to Dr. Ackerman so as to not piss the man off. The unapproachable co-CEO/company founder had been pretty upset when Jean first arrived, but Jean blamed it on the possibility of having run in to Eren. How the hell that kid managed to get a job here was beyond him. He’d briefly seen Eren walking in with his two friends this morning who both looked more than capable of holding positions here. But Eren? Something about that goofy kid just made Jean’s stomach turn and _not_ in a good way.

“Watch it Seabiscuit!”

Speak of the Devil and he shall appear.

“What freaking department do you even work in? Or did you get hired on as the janitor?” Jean asked, highly annoyed that Eren was walking right past him and didn’t even bother to stop.

“I’m in human resources,” Eren explained. “I help mend relationships, keep people from fighting, and I make sure everyone here gets along.”

“Are you kidding me?? You’re obviously not doing your job very well now are you?!”

“I said _people_ Jean, not horses.”

Jean’s mouth fell open as Eren continued to flit away and if he hadn’t promised Dr. Ackerman that he’d clock out immediately, he might continue to give Eren a piece of his mind.

Meanwhile Eren was happily on his way to gather Armin and Mikasa so that they could take their late lunch break. He had no idea that Hanji would immediately stick him with the 'hard stuff' as they called it. Reviewing and overseeing employee benefit plans was tedious, and Hanji had purposefully thrown in a few red herrings for him to catch such as incorrect payroll salaries and mismatched retirement plans. After reviewing his work once, they requested for him to go back and find the errors, and Eren had been able to do so easily. He hastily tried to explain to Hanji that he hadn’t expected the challenge on the first day, but the human resources director just laughed and ruffled his hair. Hanji forgave him for his mistakes, but Eren hadn’t felt too good about it, which was strange to him because he’d never really cared about anything outside of video games.

He took the two flights of stairs that led to the business department and headed towards Erwin's office, who he now knew as the other co-CEO. Eren was pretty pleased to find out that someone other than Levi (Eren refused to call him 'Dr. Ackerman' anymore) ran this place too. Erwin was Levi’s polar opposite in terms of everything. He was kind, warm, used his facial muscles to smile instead of frown, knew how to keep a conversation going, was friendly without being too overbearing, and had already managed to charm to hell out of Armin. Indeed, before even setting foot into the building Armin had pulled Eren aside and informed him that Erwin was officially off limits. At the time the news hadn’t broke Eren’s heart or anything since he hadn’t even met Erwin yet, but now that he'd met him he _knew_ why Armin already placed dibs.

However, upon walking in and seeing the two already in such close company, it was instantly made clear that they complimented each other better than Eren would have liked to admit. Erwin was probably already so thoroughly impressed with Armin’s knowledge and ability to effectively communicate using proper business lingo that he wouldn’t even spare Eren a glance.

 _That’s fine though_ , Eren thought to himself. _I’m not here to get a boyfriend . . . even if Armin is – that little snake!_

Though he referred to Armin as a snake, Eren held nothing but love and fondness in his heart towards both Armin and Mikasa. They were his best friends for a reason.

“Come on,” Eren whined, interrupting the talent at work. “I’m hungry.”

“I suppose I’ll have to let you go now, Armin,” Erwin chuckled, turning back to his laptop and abandoning the shared space where he and Armin had been looking over documents and reports.

“Oh, I can stay longer if you need me to,” Armin said, a bit too quickly for Eren’s taste.

“Traitor!” Eren whined again. “Erwin, kick him out!”

Erwin looked shocked, eyes wide and eyebrows raised. “I could never.”

“Fine. I guess I’ll just eat your portion of the homemade sushi I rolled this morning by myself,” Eren threatened.

“Wait! I’m coming!”

Eren smiled knowingly when Armin left the office and the two began their trek towards the finance department to pick up Mikasa.

“I have questions,” Eren announced and Armin looked miserable. “Don’t worry, they’re not all about your impending romance with Erwin.”

“Impending romance?”

“You’re so smart Armin that you can’t even sound dumb. Give it up. Why else would you have hastily told me this morning ‘U-uh Eren, s-so Erwin is o-off l-limits a-and th-that means, uh-

Eren only quit recounting the story when Armin roughly shoved his shoulder and argued, “I did _not_ stutter like that!”

“Yes you did! You wanted to make sure that if anyone was going to sink their teeth into Erwin it was going to be you! I’m honestly appalled Armin. I didn’t know you were into older guys.”

“You say that like you aren’t.”

“I’m flattered you’re copying my taste in men.”

“I don’t have a particular taste you know,” Armin explained. “Unless you consider ‘perfect men’ a taste.”

Eren sighed dreamily. “Erwin _is_ perfect. He’s so nice and charming and his grip is so _firm_ . . .”

“Don’t go touching my man.”

“But –

“And don’t go _thinking_ about him either.”

“You’re stingy Armin . . .”

“I have to be,” Armin declared, eyes darting around suspiciously. “I have a lot of competition to weed through around here. Everyone looks at Erwin with googly eyes if you haven’t noticed.”

“Oh yeah, I’ve noticed. I know because I’m one of them.”

“Eren . . .”

“But I get it!” Eren cried, recognizing the threatening tone of Armin’s voice. “I would never come in between you two like that. I’m your friend.”

Armin quickly relaxed, linking his arm with Eren’s so that they could walk even closer together. “Yeah I know. By the way, what else did you want to ask me?”

“What happened to the other guy that got hired with you? Didn’t you say there was someone else?”

“Oh yeah, he apparently called and apologized this morning for not being able to do it. He has to move for personal reasons so it’s just Erwin and I.”

“It’s just Erwin and I,” Eren mocked in a high-pitched voice. “You little – ugh!”

“I’m sorry you haven’t built up any good karma, Eren,” Armin chuckled, pulling open to door that led to the finance department. “That’s what happens when you lay around for four summers in a row and play video games all day.”

“My mom worked me like a _slave_ around the house, Armin! I should have a little good karma on my side!”

“Well you just lost it by referring to yourself as a slave. Not cool. You live like a king and you know it.”

“Ugh you know what I meant!”

“I can hear you guys arguing from two rooms over,” Mikasa interrupted.

Armin shrugged. “Eren’s being a prick, but what’s new?”

“Soon you’re gonna be saying, ‘I can hear Armin and Erwin fuc-

Eren completed the sentence but with Armin’s hand pressed over his mouth. A blush had managed to coat Armin's entire face and now he was desperately pushing Eren out of the room and down towards the level that the kitchen was on.

“Brat!” Armin growled. “Why did I want you to work here with me??”

“Ee cuz ooh uve me?” Eren said as though it was obvious. Though his mouth was covered by Armin’s hand his two friends had no problem deciphering what he said.

Mikasa’s mouth dropped open even though her expression overall remained serious and unbothered. “Seriously?”

“Seriously do I love Eren?” Armin asked. “Or seriously have I already progressed to that level with Erwin? Because my answer to both is no.”

Eren ripped the offensive hand off of his mouth and took a well-deserved deep breath. “That’s it. I’m eating your sushi!”

Armin smiled evilly. “Want to keep threatening me? Fine. Erwin already offered to take me out for lunch anyways you know.”

“WHAT!?”

“Way to go, Armin,” Mikasa congratulated, smiling warmly at her friend. “Although the age gap is a bit concerning . . .”

“Y-yeah, he’s too old for you anyways,” Eren insisted. “Good call, Mikasa!”

“I wasn’t finished,” the ravenette said. “Although the age gap is a bit concerning, Erwin is kind and handsome, so I approve.”

“Wow,” Eren sighed. “Just wow. I have no words.”

“Eren, you have plenty of words,” Armin laughed. “In about two seconds they’ll come to you.”

“You’re right, here they are! First of all, it’s not fair. I thought we just came to work, but Armin already found his future husband. You’re always going to be a million steps ahead of me and it’s just not right!”

Truthfully Eren wasn’t as upset as he was trying to come across, and he knew that both Armin and Mikasa knew that his distress wasn’t really genuine. But still, his narrative was not constructed out of falsity. There was a part of him that actually _was_ jealous. He wasn’t jealous enough to sabotage Armin in any way of course, but he briefly wondered why everything good always seemed to happen to his friend.

“Next thing you know Mikasa will have a boyfriend . . .”

“Boys are dumb so it’s unlikely,” Mikasa responded smoothly.

Eren shrugged. “Then good. Don’t leave me behind. Besides, if you get too busy I’ll be all alone when I have to plan Armin’s wedding in the next four months.”

“You’re only hurting yourself,” Armin giggled. “Just stop thinking about it, Eren. Or better yet, think about it when you’re in the bed tonight so I don’t have to hear it because you’re making me feel bad.”

“You _should_ feel bad, hogging that hot piece of ass all to yourself!"

Eren knew he'd hit a nerve when Armin playfully narrowed his eyes at him, but before Armin could scold him Levi intercepted their quest towards the kitchen and Eren could tell he’d made a mistake when Levi gazed at him as though he’d made a pass at his dead mother.

“Shitty kids. Keep your perverted comments to yourselves.”

When Levi headed into the kitchen which was exactly where they were supposed to be going, Eren growled and stalked after him, briefly hearing Armin tell him not to say anything stupid. He _almost_ thought he heard Armin suggest that maybe they should come back later, and that was  _never_  going to happen. Levi clearly got his rocks off by intimidating people and Eren wasn’t about to become fodder for that part of the man’s ego.

Bursting into the kitchen Eren headed to the fridge, gathered the food he’d stashed away, and walked towards the table Armin and Mikasa had already claimed. Unable to stop himself, Eren spoke calmly and collectedly to Levi’s back as he was facing the sink and washing dishes.

“I wasn’t talking about _you.”_

“Didn’t say you were,” Levi retorted. “I just told you to keep your mind out of the gutter. This is an office, not a brothel.”

Eren opened his mouth to once again fire back at the prick but Armin interrupted him by making a comment about how good the sushi was so Eren backed down. Levi eventually sidled out of the kitchen and once he was gone, Eren let go.

“That was the asshole I had the pleasure of being interviewed by! _That!”_

Mikasa shrugged. “He seemed alright.”

“Alright?! He called us shitty kids!”

“I don’t think he meant it to be offensive though,” Armin added. “I think it’s just his way of addressing us. It could even be a term of endearment.”

“Don’t try to spin that bullshit to me, Armin. My name is Eren and that’s what I want to be called. If Erwin can call us by our names so can Levi.”

“I thought it was Dr. Ackerman.”

“I’m not calling him a _Doctor_ if he can’t even use my name, Mikasa!” Eren argued, suddenly too disgusted to eat. “Ugh, you guys should have been there during my interview! He called me a puppy!”

“Puppies are cute though.”

“He probably eats puppies for breakfast.”

Armin looked disappointed as he pushed away his sushi slowly. “Now I’m not too hungry anymore . . .”

Eren frowned. “Sorry . . . you probably should have gone out with Erwin to eat. I’ve probably been annoying you all day.”

“No! You haven’t I promise. But . . . maybe tomorrow I will.”

“You should,” Mikasa encouraged him, and then turned her attention back towards Eren. “And Eren, just do your best to avoid Dr. Ackerman. You shouldn’t have to be around him if you really don’t want to. Just stick with Hanji and everything will be fine.”

“Yeah, I know. And actually, there are two other interns that I work with, Christa and Marco, and they’re really nice. We should all hang out this weekend or something.”

Mikasa smiled gently. “Sounds good. There are also a lot of students our age in the accounting department that might be interested in hanging out too. Finance works closely with that department, and since I’m all alone, Eld tells me that he doesn’t mind if I spend my free time over there.”

“Wonder how horse face fares all alone with Levi.”

“Horse face?” Armin asked. “Who is that?”

“That asshole that works with Levi. I mean, it’s no wonder Levi hired him since birds of a feather flock together. I saw him leaving around one so I’m wondering if Levi already got tired of him.”

“Okay, I can’t get an accurate representation in my head of this guy if you don’t tell me his real name.”

“You don’t need to know his name. Just know that he descends from a line of horses. He told me himself.”

Armin rolled his eyes playfully. “Pretty sure he didn’t tell you that, but okay. Hey, Mikasa! Don’t eat my share!”

“But you said you weren’t hungry anymore.”

“I changed my mind!”

“Simmer down children,” Eren scolded. “I can make more when we get home. You can take notes Armin, since you’ll be a housewife one day.”

Armin groaned, still lazily fighting Mikasa off in order to defend his meal. “You’re going to hold this over my head until I die, huh?”

“You’re going to want to be buried beside him, right? Should I go ahead and arrange the plots now or later?”

“Eren . . .”

“Or maybe you can let me know after the baby’s born.”

“Now you’re just being ridiculous,” Armin scoffed. “We’re having twins.”

“Clearly I’m missing something,” Mikasa said, looking curiously between the two and waiting for the joke to be explained.

“There’s no joke,” Armin explained. “Just Eren being petty and jealous.”

“Don’t expose me like that, Armin. I thought we were friends.”

“We are, which is why you’re going to be my best man at mine and Erwin’s wedding.”

“Wow, I’m so lucky,” Eren grumbled.

Mikasa sighed. “It’s too early to be thinking about marriage you two . . .”

“Eren started it,” Armin defended.

“Fine! I’ll just keep all of my thoughts in my head then!”

“Good, but I don’t want you thinking anything dirty.”

Eren slowly let an evil smile stretch across his face, hoping to give Armin the impression that he indeed was thinking something dirty about his future lover. Their friendly spat continued with Mikasa gazing between the two confused and lost, but at least their arguing gave her ample opportunities to swipe some of the uneaten sushi for herself.

* * *

Levi sat comfortably on a Chinese-imported leather couch, now nursing a cup of scotch instead of tea for once. It wasn’t often that he and Erwin relaxed in the break room after a long day of work, but it was necessary to do so in order to discuss the progress they’d made with their interns. Levi also wouldn’t mind discussing their future business ventures in Hong Kong, but he’d humor Erwin with his intern talk for a few minutes he supposed.

“Any reason why the other departments aren’t here?” Levi asked, allowing for a bit of curiosity in his tone. “Especially Petra’s accounting department since she has a shit ton of people to manage.”

“I’ll let you talk with her if you want to,” Erwin said, taking a seat across from Levi and sipping his own glass of scotch.

“I think that brat Eren wants to fuck you.”

Although Levi wasn’t a psychopath, it was amusing to watch Erwin choke on his beverage in front of him. It wasn’t easy to fluster him, and now Levi had a little trump card he could pull on Erwin whenever his co-CEO annoyed him.

After recovering from Levi’s totally uncalled for statement, Erwin asked, “What gave you that idea?”

Levi shrugged. “He and his friends were walking around talking about a hot piece of ass and I figured it was about you.”

“You think I’m a hot piece of ass?”

“Well they confirmed it wasn’t about _me_ so who else could they be talking about?”

“I can’t tell it that’s a compliment or not,” Erwin chuckled before seriously shaking his head. “But I doubt it’s true. They were probably talking about a friend from school.”

“Actually,” Levi reminisced, recalling the conversation. “Eren said something about hogging a hot piece of ass to his little blonde friend.”

“Armin?”

“I guess.”

“Hmm.”

“Oh?” Levi asked, suddenly becoming interested in Erwin’s love life. “Got yourself a little boyfriend?”

“I think you’ve had too much to drink,” Erwin scoffed. “Put it down.”

Levi ignored the command and downed the rest of his drink. No one told him what to do.

“Good luck with that brat.”

“Armin’s not a brat! I mean, he’s a good kid. Look Levi, do me a favor and keep work and romance separate, alright?”

Levi tch’ed in annoyance, clearly upset at having been accused of conflating the two issues. He was the _last_ person to ever encourage an office romance and he didn’t need Erwin scolding him for it. Usually he and Erwin bickered back and forth all the time in a friendly manner, but it was the first time Erwin had directly shot him down like this. It only made Levi believe that Erwin was serious about that Armin kid, and it totally pissed Levi off. Erwin had known that little blonde monkey for a day and he was already getting his panties in a wad over him? Unbelievable.

“What else do you need to speak with me about?” Levi asked, getting up to voluntarily pour himself another glass.

“I just wanted to know how your work with Jean was going. I was just curious. You’re my business partner after all.”

“It’s fine. He’s a smart kid and I’m not disgusted by him. _Yet.”_

“Good. Have you let him perform any risk analysis?”

“No. I’ve got it covered,” Levi said. “Though I’m glad you brought that up. I wanted to discuss our subsidiary in Hong Kong.”

Erwin nodded slowly and glanced at his watch. “Oh. Well, it’s actually getting pretty late, so –

“Oi asshole. I’m in my element here.”

“Fine, fine,” Erwin chuckled. “But I’m going to need another glass of scotch.”


	4. Chapter 4

“Alright Eren, are you ready for your first human resources board meeting?”

At first Eren didn’t react to Hanji’s question, but once he understood the gravity behind it he quickly turned to face them with wide eyes.

“S-seriously?? Already?? But it’s only been a couple of weeks!”

“Well, we have these meetings once a month at the end of every month and it’s that time!” Hanji said, evidently excited about showing Eren what human resources was all about. “We employ over five hundred people so it gets pretty hectic in terms of managing the relationships among the employees. Complaints are filed every day, Eren! Come with me for a moment.”

Eren followed Hanji into a small room filled with just filing cabinets and he watched in disbelief as Hanji pulled open a drawer filled with papers, some organized neatly and others sticking out sporadically. He was surprised the drawer was even able to shut in the first place given how stuffed it was.

“These are complaints that were filed just this month. It’s everything from sexual harassment, to racial discrimination, to car-keying, to vandalism, to theft. Sitting in on a board meeting will be fun! Christa and Marco are already really excited for it!”

“Well, I trust your judgement Hanji and I won’t argue with you! I’ll be there!”

“Good! Let’s go!”

“R-right now?”

“Yup! I’ll go and grab Christa and Marco and we’ll be on our way!”

“O-okay . . .”

“Oh, and Eren,” Hanji spoke, their voice suddenly becoming serious. “I know that this isn’t what you wanted to do when you applied here, and I know how passionate you are about statistics. But I just don’t see you holed up in an office all day working in Excel and analyzing risk like Levi. You’re too personable, too friendly, and too talkative. It’s not my place to say this, but I really think you should consider a field in human resources.”

“ . . . Hanji, I _really_ trust your opinion, so if you say –

“Ahh no! Don’t let me be the deciding factor, Eren! Please complete your internship in full before you decide! Economics is a very versatile field and you can do just about anything with it, so don’t go switching your major or anything just yet, okay? I just want you to think about it and trust me when I say that you would be good at this . . . but, you would be good at a lot of things, Eren.”

“Hanji . . . you’re so kind . . .”

“I might be a little obsessed with you though,” Hanji chuckled, feeling slightly embarrassed by the heat that ascended into Eren’s cheeks. “You’re just too adorable for your own good!”

With that being said, Hanji dragged him out of the room and after meeting with Christa and Marco they were led to the top floor of the building where the executive meetings took place. Over the past couple of weeks, Eren had come to trust Hanji as much as he trusted his own parents. He valued their judgement and abilities probably more than he valued his own, so he took their suggestion just now very seriously. He hadn’t really contemplated what life would be like as a true data analyst, and if it really involved being confined to his office all day he had some serious thinking to do. What if he turned into a Levi??? He’d rather be homeless than become that kind of person, and he wondered if Levi’s personality really _was_ influenced by the type of work he did. He probably didn’t get out much, probably didn’t have very many friends, probably didn’t have a sense of humor, and probably didn’t do anything other than sit around all day and play with numbers. Would Eren turn into the same kind of person if he took up work like that?

Actually, as a co-CEO of the company, what did Levi really do? Surely his responsibilities extended far beyond being the company's statistician, right? He would probably never know since he didn’t have any plans of discussing it with the man, but Eren knew he’d never be adept enough to run a company, _ever._ Thus, if he became a statistician, would his life really revolve around his work? Would he be confined to his office all day? Would he quit wanting to be friendly and outgoing? Would he turn into a nerd that sat around all day playing with Excel?!

Now that he thought about it, human resources was starting to sound like a good idea. Despite how it may seem, he _did_ like people! The real test would come, of course, if he was ever asked to help settle a dispute, and at the rate he was going, Hanji _might_ ask him to do so during his internship. It was something to think about.

“I’m really excited!” Christa whispered to him once they were all seated in the large room.

There had to have been forty employees in there also whispering amongst themselves as Hanji took their place in front of a very expensive Promethean board that was currently turned off.

“It’s kind of shocking to hear about cases like sexual harassment and theft within the company,” Marco said. “Who would do such a thing . . .?”

“Marco, explain how you can make me feel bad about something that doesn’t even affect me,” Eren demanded, feeling his heart clench at Marco’s crestfallen expression.

“I mean think about it. What kind of person do you have to be to steal from your coworkers?”

“Are you sure you’re cut out for this?” Christa giggled. “You can’t be such a pushover on the job, you know.”

“I-I’m not a pushover!” Marco argued. “It’s just shocking, that’s all!”

“I’m kind of curious to see how they resolve it,” Eren mused. “I wonder if anyone will get fired?”

Christa shrugged. “I suppose we’ll see by the end of it.”

“Alright everyone,” Hanji spoke loudly, gathering everyone’s attention. “Now, we can usually resolve these disputes within an hour or two but because I have three very capable interns here watching us today, I really want to show them how the human resource department cooperates to bring utmost satisfaction to all employees here at A&E Corporation. I’d like to start with the case of theft within the accounting department.”

Eren watched a female employee stand up and command the presence around her before speaking. “I am the head representative for the accounting department today. The case was brought to me by Jessica Rutledge against Warren Combs. She has accused him of stealing her stapler.”

“Has the stapler been recovered?” Hanji asked seriously.

“Not yet.”

“All of this over a stapler?” Eren asked quietly, listening intensely as the meeting continued.

“I guess anyone is welcome to file a case over anything,” Christa responded. “Theft is theft after all.”

Eren continued to listen to the first case progress and it ended up not even getting resolved. In the end it had to be moved to the ‘pending review’ folder to be further analyzed and resolved by Hanji, preferably via one-on-one mediation, with one meeting being with Jessica, one meeting being with Warren, and a final meeting being with all three of them to discuss the whereabouts of the stapler more in depth. If all of this happened just because a stapler was stolen, Eren couldn’t wait to hear what happened in sexual harassment or racial discrimination cases. Due to being so open and accepting and going to a school that reflected the same values, Eren had never been witness to anything discriminating or harassing against himself or anyone else he knew. He wouldn’t even know how to handle those topics. Were people still racist in 2019? Of course, he knew racists _had_ to exist somewhere out there, but he never really thought about it in depth since he never came into contact with it.

“I’m shook,” Eren whispered.

“Why?” Marco asked. “Over the stapler?”

“Nah, it’s not that. It’s just . . . I don’t know. I’m glad I came today.”

* * *

Apparently, the end of the month also called for a ‘celebratory dinner’ as Hanji called it. It wasn’t for everybody obviously – it was mostly for higher-ups who actually managed the business on a large scale. Thus, it included Hanji, Petra, Erwin, Levi, Eld, Olou, and luckily for him, all of the interns were invited as well. At first, he hadn’t really cared about going. He had no desire to see Armin and Erwin flirt the entire time which had become so _obvious_ that he was starting to get pissed off at Erwin for not officially asking Armin out. Also, he didn’t really like fancy food. The fanciest he got was sushi, and his preferred meal was pizza or maybe some greasy Chinese food. But both Mikasa and Armin were excited about going and this was a really nice steakhouse and the cuts of meat were so expensive and juicy and it was all paid for and if he didn’t come he was an idiot and blah, blah, blah (he’d tuned Armin out at that point).

So, here he was, but not at all upset at the fact that he got to ride in the back of Erwin’s four-door Mercedes Coupé. He almost felt as though he couldn’t get comfortable in the luxury vehicle and gazed longingly at Armin who was as comfortable as could be in the front seat, chatting to Erwin about something business related. Mikasa sat quietly beside him, gazing out of the window at the scenery flying by. She too looked relaxed and content, and although Eren willed himself to do the same, he supposed the anticipation of setting foot inside of such a nice restaurant was getting to him. He was at least comfortable with everyone that was going, save for Levi, but he worried about not being able to keep up with the conversation. What in the world were they going to talk about? Armin and Mikasa would have no problem keeping up, and although Eren was prepared to sit there like a lost puppy, it bothered him. Sometimes he felt like he would never catch up, and the fact that that bothered him _so much_ was something he was still trying to come to terms with . . .

“Full house tonight.”

The sound of Armin’s voice released him from his thoughts and Eren looked around at the full parking lot and realized that he was right.

“Don’t worry, we have a reservation,” Erwin informed them all and glanced quickly at his watch. “And we’re right on time. Would you kids like to be dropped off at the front while I park the car?”

“There’s no valet?” Eren asked curiously.

“No, but there should be,” Erwin chuckled.

“There’s somebody backing out over there,” Armin pointed at. “That’s pretty close. We don’t need to be let out.”

Eren casually watched the front of the restaurant as they drove away from it. The people streaming in and out were dressed to perfection. Men were pulling up and letting women out and then proceeding to circle the parking lot looking for places to park their clearly over $100,000 cars. Eren had never driven so far out of his way just to get to a restaurant. It had taken over an hour to get here, and Erwin had informed him that people actually drove for even longer than _that_ to get here. And for what? A piece of steak? Give him a grill and a nice cut of meat and Eren could cook a perfectly fine steak on his own!

“Once this grandma pulls out we can finally go in,” Erwin mumbled, waiting patiently for a Lamborghini to back out of its spot.

“Is it really a grandma?” Armin chuckled.

“I think it was two actually.”

Mikasa sat forward to gaze out of the front windshield at the hold up. “Shouldn’t be much longer now.”

Eren sat forward too and almost drooled at the sight of the dark blue Lambo. _God,_ it was so sleek and shiny - probably cost a fortune too. He could almost imagine the feel of those carbon fiber seats against his skin. The lightness and airiness of the materials used to build a Lamborghini, Eren knew, allowed for the increased performance and speed of the vehicle. And the fact that it belonged to two old ladies who couldn’t even appreciate it in all of its glory was just offensive.

“Finally,” Erwin breathed, getting ready to pull into the spot when all of a sudden -

“Gh! Bastard!”

At the last moment a Rolls-Royce had whipped into the spot, and Eren almost got out to gave the thief a piece of his mind when he realized Erwin was laughing. Out stepped Levi, Jean, and Petra, with Jean laughing as though that steal had been the funniest thing in the world and Levi looking smug as hell even though Petra seemed to be scolding him. Erwin rolled his window down and leaned out to shout, “Hey bastard, that was my spot!”

Levi tilted his head down to peer at his friend out of gold aviator Ray-Bans. “Better luck next time, old man.”

“OOH! Shots fired!” Jean shouted, and seeing Eren through the window of the car caused him to break out into a strange celebratory dance that Eren was quickly able to shut down.

“The mating dance is unnecessary, Jean! There aren’t any horses around!”

Immediately Jean stopped dancing and Eren smiled in victory as Erwin drove away and he could no longer hear the insults Jean attempted to scream back at him.

“I’m assuming that’s the horse?” Mikasa asked, and Eren busted out into laughter over her serious tone.

“Yeah, that’s him!”

“You know,” Armin said quietly. “He may be the type to bully the one he likes.”

Eren rolled his eyes. “I’m not into bestiality though.”

“Whoa, we’re about to eat you three,” Erwin laughed, eventually finding another parking spot further away. “And I’m not one for gossip so I’m going to go ahead and say my piece: I’ve talked with Jean and he’s quite pleasant.”

“What? Erwin not you too,” Eren groaned. “How can Jean infect everyone he meets? He sucks!”

“Perhaps Armin is right,” Erwin suggested. “Maybe Jean has a little crush on you. Actually, forget I said that. I’m almost thirty-five years old and I’m not going to entertain it.”

“I’ll study him tonight at dinner,” Armin promised Eren as they made their way up to the restaurant. “I’ll reveal the truth.”

“Anyone who bullies you is an enemy of mine,” Mikasa said, finally speaking up after her many moments of staying silent. “I won’t let him anywhere near you.”

“I don’t need protection,” Eren vehemently argued. “Just put me in the ring with him. I’ll have him on his ass in three seconds.”

“HA!” Armin laughed. “Now you think you’re a boxer?”

“I _know_ I’m a boxer.”

“A bee literally landed on you and you passed out.”

“I’m highly allergic to bees! That could have been fatal had it stung me!”

Erwin quietly listened to the three children continue to bicker, amused by their behavior. It reminded him of himself, Levi, and Hange when they were that age. They acted the same way around each other and the nostalgia was already beginning to affect him. Even now seeing Levi waiting, arms crossed and pissed off at the front door with Hange obnoxiously hanging over him to annoy him made Erwin smile even wider. What good memories he’d made with those two.

“Finally,” Levi scoffed. “Eld and Olou are already inside at the table with all of those other kids.”

“Well if someone hadn’t stolen my spot we’d have already been up here,” Erwin chastised. “I hope you let him have it, Petra.”

“Don’t worry about that,” the redheaded woman smiled. “I think he’s learned from his mistake.”

“That wasn’t a mistake. That was a deliberate action on my part,” Levi explained. “I _intended_ to take that spot knowing Erwin wanted it.”

“Evil!” Petra yelled.

Levi turned his back on everyone and instead just walked into the restaurant, letting them know that he’d had enough of the chit-chat. He was truly starving since he hadn’t eaten all day, which was a normal occurrence for him, but that didn’t mean he was used to the stomach pains. He immediately found the multiple tables pushed together and took a seat at random. Eventually the rest of their party filed in, and he ended up sandwiched between Jean and Hange. Jean he could deal with, but his fist was already aching to swat Hange over the head. He could already see future Hange making attempts at stealing food off his plate, a behavior that they had exhibited for the last decade he’d known them. The _very_ first time they had done it, Levi thought it was obnoxious and slightly -  **very _slightly_** -endearing. But every time after that it brought the Satan out of him and he really didn’t feel like dealing with that urge to body slam Hange to the floor for picking over his plate tonight.

“Should we all introduce ourselves??” Hange asked, excitedly. “I don’t think all of the interns are familiar with each other yet. Oh yes, the bread’s here!”

The suggestion would have been forgotten if not for Jean offering to speak up. “Well, I’m Jean the III. I was born in Belgium and I speak four different languages. My father –

“So horse, zebra, broken English, and what’s the last one?” Eren asked.

Laughter erupted from the other interns across the table and Jean immediately whipped around towards Eren. “How in the _world_ did I get stuck beside _you?”_

“I sat here first.”

“No, _I_ sat here first!”

Levi immediately got on his phone and pulled up the news, trying to distract himself from the surrounding child’s play. He should have declined the offer when it was brought up to him, but he’d let Petra and Hange convince him to come to the dinner by falling victim to their begging _once again._  Make no mistake, Levi respected both of his colleagues, and if one of them begging him wasn’t enough to convince him, both of them begging always seemed to do the trick. He didn’t make it his mission to make everyone hate him of course, but lately he felt as though he’d been getting soft. Really it was time to start standing up for himself more, and that included not allowing Petra and Hange to rope him into doing things he didn’t want to do.

Attending this dinner had _clearly_ been a mistake, and unfortunately, Jean and Eren’s bickering in his ear was slowly burning away at his already short fuse.

“Yes, I _do_ speak French, Yeager!”

“Okay, then how do I say, ‘shut up you horse face’ in French?”

“I’m not telling you how to say that!”

“Why not?? Thought you knew French?!”

“Why would I tell you how to say that? Then I’d have to listen to it all the time! Google translate it if you’re so curious!”

“Enough!” Levi yelled, and both Jean and Eren looked at him as if they’d been caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Levi stood abruptly and Jean didn’t even need to be told what to do. Once the seat was cleared, Levi took his new spot in between the two and growled, “If I hear another peep out of you two brats again one of you is leaving in the ambulance.”

Pissed at having to sit beside his mortal enemy, Eren turned his nose up at both Levi and Jean and focused his attention on Mikasa’s new friends, but it didn’t seem like they were interested in talking to him. Armin was also too wrapped up in conversation with Erwin to give him the time of day, and Eren huffed in exasperation at being ignored. Intentionally sighing loudly to be obnoxious, he fell back against his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. What a boring dinner. His best friends were caught up in their own conversations, Christa and Marco ended up on the far end of the table, and his hopes of being relieved of his loneliness by someone he could actually get along with were dashed once he was handed the menu. Half of the items were in another language, French being one of them, and he knew that if he wanted a translation he was going to have to ask _him._

Eren wasn’t cut out for this and freaking Levi was taking up all of his elbow room and the waiter had put too much ice in his water and the bread was too far away from him and this was just **not his day**.

“Hey Seabiscuit?” Eren asked weakly. “Can you translate this menu for me?”

“No way! Not my fault you didn’t listen in French class,” Jean retorted, eyes glued to his own menu that was held impossibly close to his face. So close that it probably wasn’t even humanly possible to read it.

“What do you need help with?” Levi asked him, and Eren couldn’t believe his ears. “I can speak French.”

“Jeannn,” Eren whined, blatantly ignoring Levi. “I need you.”

Levi raised a brow and now turned to look directly at Eren. “Oi you little shit. I’m talking to you.”

When he was ignored once again, Levi growled and jerked Eren’s menu out of his hands. An angry screech erupted from Eren as he tried to get the menu back, but Levi held it out of arms’ length with one hand and pushed Eren back into his seat with the other hand like the child he was.

“Learn some damn respect, brat. I’m trying to help you.”

“I don’t want your help!” Eren complained. “I want my horse to acknowledge its rider!”

Jean finally put his menu down to turn towards Eren as well. “In your wildest dreams, Yeager! You wish you could tame this stallion!”

“Shut up!” Levi said and watched the argument dissipate immediately. “Thank God I didn’t have kids . . .”

Eren had had enough at this point and abruptly stood to make a hasty exit towards the bathrooms. The action immediately caught Hange’s attention.

“Is he okay?” Hange asked, leaning around the back of Jean to direct the question at Levi.

“Probably upset himself,” Levi answered tersely and returned to his menu.

“Well go get him!”

“He’s probably in there crying,” Jean mocked, ignoring the angry gaze from Hange. Although, he didn’t look their way at all to know he was being stared at. He could definitely feel the glare burning into the side of his face, and he slightly cowered under the look. “Serves him right for always comparing me to a horse . . .”

“Levi, go check on him,” Hange urged. “The waiter is going to come back any second now.”

“So?” Levi asked, now engaged in a serious mental debate over whether or not he was going to order the beef wellington or the steak au poivre.

“Don’t make me tell Petra.”

“Hmm? I heard my name,” Petra’s cheery voice announced and Levi could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand up in agitation.

If those two even dared to bother him about this he was going to lose it. He wasn’t a damn babysitter! And had he known Jean and Eren were going to argue like they did he would have insisted they sat on opposite ends of the table!

“Eren is _your_ intern!” Levi sneered, unbothered by Hange’s shocked expression. “That shitty brat is the one who started the fight! If you send me in the bathroom after him I’m going to let him have it! Just leave him alone!”

Instead of arguing back though, Hange quieted down when they saw Eren return and take his original seat. They hadn’t got a good look at him, but it was very clear from Eren’s downcast eyes and slumped shoulders that his mood had been soured for the rest of the night. At first, Hange remained seated and hoped that Jean would have enough common decency not to instigate further conversation from Eren. However, when Eren remained silent for the next ten minutes, they hopped out of the chair and approached him, gently placing their hands upon his shoulders.

“Are you okay?” Hange whispered quietly so that only Eren could hear.

Eren didn’t turn around but nodded weakly.

“Let me know if you need anything then, okay?”

Eren nodded again and after a moment’s hesitation he felt Hanji returned to their seat.

To Eren, there was a difference between angry tears and sad tears, but for some reason, angry tears left him more drained than the latter type. This would be the first and last time he ever went out to eat with this group of people again. He wanted his friends beside him, he wanted Jean fired, and he wanted Levi as far away as possible. Even smelling the man’s Burberry cologne was making him sick. It wasn’t fair. Though he knew Hanji was on his side, feeling like his best friends weren’t hurt him. He felt like he’d been replaced in the span of ten minutes.

Feeling defeated and unwanted, Eren stared blankly at his menu trying to find something that sounded appetizing. The only thing he could read was filet mignon so he supposed that was what he was going to get. He was too uncultured to read anything else on the menu after all.

“Know what you’re getting?”

Eren continued to stare at his menu, believing that whoever Levi could be talking to, it most definitely wasn’t him.

“Brat, I’m talking to you.”

Eren still didn’t respond.

 _“Eren_ do you know what you want? Oi, look at me you little swine! I’m trying to be nice!”

Finally Eren glanced up at Levi and he almost swore that Levi’s normally steely gaze softened just a little bit once they finally made eye contact. Eren figured he must look extremely pathetic for even Levi to offer him an ounce of sympathy.

“Filet mignon,” Eren mumbled.

“We drove an hour to get here and you’re getting a steak that you can get at practically any steakhouse?” Levi asked impatiently.

Unfortunately Eren looked like he was about to cry again and Levi swallowed nervously, trying to keep the kid happy. Levi wasn’t too crazy about Eren (at least, he didn't think he was) but he didn’t want him to cry his way through dinner. 

“Hey, it’s okay. Get the filet mignon if you want, alright?”

Levi hoped that that was enough encouragement, and after a few moments Eren sniffled before pointing at a particular menu item.

“What’s risotto?”

“It’s got mushrooms in it.”

“Ew, never mind.”

Levi shot Eren a smug look as if he'd known that fact about Eren all along. “I knew you wouldn’t like it. A brat your age doesn’t have a refined enough palate.”

“Then what are _you_ getting since you’re so old and refined?” Eren snapped at him, but Levi didn’t take any offence to it.

“Beef wellington.”

“Never heard of it,” Eren griped.

“Of course you haven’t.”

Eren sighed, hardly lacking the drive to make a rude comment in return. “I’m getting the filet mignon since that’s all I know.”

“Well, when mine comes out, you can have some if you want.”

Stunned, Eren glanced at Levi out of the corner of his eye to make sure he’d heard right. Levi hadn’t grown another head and he’d pinched himself multiple times in the bathroom to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. Did the man really just say that?  _Really?_

“And don’t get used to the kindness,” Levi hissed quietly, growing tired of Eren’s shocked expression. “I don’t bully crybabies.”

“I’m not a crybaby,” Eren argued lightly. “Those were angry tears.”

“Tch. Don’t be angry. You get to eat a $50 steak for free.”

“I just want to go home . . .”

His voice was so quiet that Levi almost hadn’t heard it. At that moment he finally realized just how hard the kid was taking everything that had happened. The anxiety had probably been building up over some time (over what exactly Levi didn’t know) but it was clear that Eren had just had a small mental breakdown. Levi didn’t want to make it worse, but he also didn’t know how to make it better. Eren was barely twenty years old and his brain hadn’t even fully matured yet. Hell, when Levi was twenty he certainly wasn’t working. To his best recollection he was drinking and partying, especially during the summer.

Hesitantly, Levi reached up and gently patted Eren on the back. Eren immediately stiffened in response, so Levi added, “Be proud of yourself. You’re doing more than most kids your age do. You did more than I did when I was in my twenties.”

Again Eren looked stunned, and Levi wondered if the words coming out of his mouth were that uncharacteristic of him. Now that he thought about it, they probably were. He couldn’t think of the last time he’d offered someone words of encouragement. It almost felt like speaking a foreign language. It felt _gross._

“Thanks Levi.” Eren was smiling and him and now _Levi_ wanted to get up and go to the bathroom.

He quickly turned away and busied himself with his menu again, instantly reminded of the reason he hadn’t hired Eren in the first place. Cute brat with his beautiful eyes and adorable smile and –

Wait, had that little shit just called him _Levi?!_


	5. Chapter 5

It was almost stupid how quickly he and Levi became friends. Well, maybe “friends” wasn’t the right way to phrase it, but Hanji had been throwing the F word around so much now that they were beginning to make Eren think it was true. Over the last few days Eren had gotten to meet Sasha, Connie, Ymir, Bertholdt, and Reiner, all of whom were interning in the accounting department. The dinner incident hadn’t been spoken of, partially because there really wasn’t anything to talk about. Both Armin and Mikasa had been so tied up in their own worlds that they were completely oblivious to Eren’s emotional breakdown. In fact, it was very difficult to explain to them why he now didn’t totally detest Levi. They were none the wiser about the conversation that had taken place, but Eren wasn’t sure he really wanted them to know. It wasn’t exactly the most pleasant experience, and he hoped and prayed that Levi totally wiped it from his memory. Eren didn’t think himself the type to cry, and the fact that a coworker he didn’t know very well knew that he cried was embarrassing.

“Your best friend is taking a lunch break in the kitchen,” Hanji informed him happily, almost skipping as they made their way over to him.

“Armin?” Eren asked, hopefully.

“No, silly! Levi!”

Eren rolled his eyes playfully at their assertion, but Hanji didn’t back down even though Eren tried to explain his position. “Levi isn’t my best friend, Hanji.”

“Not yet, but Grumpy is in there all alone and you don’t have anything to do!”

“Don’t I have some complaints to look over?”

“Hmm, nope. Did those already.”

“But I’m not really hungry.”

“Eren!” Hanji whined desperately. “Am I gonna have to drag you to him?”

“Why do you want me to see him so badly? Is he okay?”

“No, he’s _not_ okay! He’s forever alone!”

Eren shrugged before glancing at the clock and seeing that it was two forty-five in the afternoon. “I guess I could eat.”

“Good! Go down to the kitchen now! Hurry, hurry!”

“A-alright!” Eren laughed and did as he was told.

Okay, now he was _positive_ that Hanji was acting weird. The weird behavior began happening immediately following the dinner that transpired just a few days ago, and Eren cursed himself for having to entertain that dreadful night again, but it had to be done if he was going to figure out _why_ Hanji was being so strange. He wondered if Hanji was going to all of the trouble to get Levi to talk to him as well. Over the past few days he and Levi had exchanged a few words, but that was it: just a few words. He recalled saying ‘hi’ to Levi and Levi grunting in response and avoiding eye-contact with him like a cavemen, which Eren figured was just Levi’s way of operating. Other than that they hadn’t really spoken. If anything, Eren was just happy to finally be on good terms with everyone in the office (including Jean because obviously Eren didn’t hate him) and he didn’t want to do anything to mess it up and make his time here miserable again. Even though a month had passed, Eren finally felt as though he had grown accustomed to the swing of things around here. He liked what he did, he liked the person he worked for, and he liked the people he worked with. The $16 an hour was just icing on the cake . . . also, he _may_ or _may not_ have already bought a PS4 with his first paycheck and spent his second paycheck on multiple games.

Although it was hard to find time to play since he technically worked full time, his parents had stopped bothering him when it came to cooking and cleaning the house, and it was nice to get off of work and flop into the bed with a twenty-piece McNugget meal from McDonald’s and play until two in the morning. He _did_ have to be up by seven-thirty in the morning and running on five hours of sleep always took a toll on him, but dammit, he didn’t buy that PS4 for nothing!

Once the kitchen came into view he realized that he actually _was_ hungry and he started to feel excited about what he’d brought for lunch. Now that he didn’t have to feed Armin anymore (or Mikasa, as she usually took her lunch breaks alone since she preferred ‘reflection time’) Eren was free to make whatever he liked. And last night he’d been inspired to make curry and thus, that’s what he’d brought. Curry was always easy to make because the sauce didn’t require much time, and making the rice was as easy as throwing it into the rice cooker. He’d made yellow curry and added shrimp, sweet potatoes, and bell peppers this time and his taste buds were screaming as he quickened his pace. He shouldn’t be this excited for food but his curry wasn’t anything to joke about. He’d learned from his mother and moms always knew how to cook!

Racing into the kitchen he ripped open the fridge and feasted his eyes upon his concoction waiting for him in the corner. Pulling out the two separate containers and opening the microwave, he briefly remembered why he was forced to come to the kitchen and turned around to see Levi sitting at a table reading a book.

An _actual_ book.

For _pleasure._

Levi surprised him every day.

“Hi Levi,” Eren said, uncaring that he disturbed the man in the middle of his reading. Again, all Eren received in return was an annoyed noise of acknowledgement.

“What are you reading?” Eren asked, absentmindedly placing the food in the microwave and waiting patiently for it to get hot.

“Philosophy,” Levi answered slowly. “Hume to be precise.”

“Sounds boring,” Eren commented. “Hanji said you were lonely down here so I came to eat with you. But from the looks of it you don’t want any company.”

Levi continued to read for a few moments before commenting on the smell of Eren’s food. “That shit stinks.”

“It’s curry,” Eren explained. “It’s really good.”

“Tch. I’ll bet.”

“Do you want a bite?”

Levi felt his heart jump in his chest at the question and it instantly pissed him off. “Fuck off.”

“Well then!” Eren scoffed, taking his food out of the microwave and plating it perfectly for himself. Of course, curry did smell, but Eren thought it smelled good. It smelled meaty, spicy, warm and inviting. It was the perfect comfort food (after pizza of course) and it wasn’t too complex at all so he could throw it together within a couple of hours. Eren eventually took his masterpiece and sat down at a table farthest from Levi so as to not bother him while he ate, and practically inhaled the dish in record time. It was a drastic change compared to his attitude at the restaurant. Such an upscale environment made him eat slowly and pick at his food with what could be viewed as distrust. But when he was eating his own food while no one was watching, he tended to eat it so fast that he hardly had time to taste it.

Only when he was taking the last bite did Eld walk in and Eren immediately recognized him as the head of the finance department.

After only taking a few steps into the kitchen, Eld paused and curiously inhaled the air before announcing, “It smells good in here!”

Eren was quiet until Eld caught his eyes and smiled warmly at him.

“Are you the culprit? If you made that curry it smells great.”

“Yeah, it was me!” Eren said, quite proud that someone was recognizing his superior chef skills. “I’m the one behind all of the dishes hidden in the back on the top row of the fridge.”

“I was wondering where all that delicious looking food was coming from,” Eld said. “You should have gone to culinary school.”

“Say that _after_ you taste my food,” Eren chuckled. “I’ll be back in school by September, but I’m thinking about showing up with a birthday cake for Hanji.”

“If you do, I guarantee you that they won’t stop talking about it for years to come.”

Eren smiled softly. “I know. Hanji has been a huge part of my experience here and I want to be able to thank them once it’s all over.”

“Do you know what their favorite flavor of cake is?” Eld asked, now heading over to the fridge to search for his own lunch. “Pretty sure they’ve mentioned it before but I can’t seem to remember. Do you know Levi?”

Instead of answering Levi snapped his book shut and abruptly stood up. “This is what I get for wanting to read a damn book and have a change of scenery at the same time. Assholes yapping like they’re at their high school reunion. And I _hate_ cake.”

Levi stormed away and Eld looked back at Eren with his eyebrows raised.

“What did you do?” Eld accused, though his tone wasn’t truly accusatory at all.

“Me?” Eren asked. “He was like that when I came in.”

“Oh. Well, don’t worry. I’ll find out what kind of cake Hange likes without spoiling the surprise.”

* * *

Upon returning to his office Levi realized he couldn’t continue reading. He was too . . . frazzled. He felt as though he’d almost been exposed or something. Which was stupid because he didn’t have anything to hide! He wasn’t in the wrong at all. All he was doing was minding his own business and trying to read a book when that little brat approached him because Hange accused him of being lonely! Just because someone spent their time alone didn’t mean they were lonely! Hange ought to know he likes to be alone by now! So what was the deal with sending Eren down there to eat with him? Not only had he already eaten by the time Eren got there, but if Hange was worried about him being lonely, they were usually happy to accompany him. What in the _world_ gave them the idea to send that idiot Eren?

Suddenly Levi was replaying the conversation in his head and once again got pissed over Eren asking him if he wanted some of his food. Like Levi would _ever_ eat some of Eren’s food and off the _same_ spoon?! Hell no. That brat clearly didn’t know him. Levi could barely eat in public restaurants for fear of germs and who knew how clean Eren was? A nasty little brat like him probably took a shit and then proceeded to start cooking without even washing his hands! Just the thought made Levi’s skin crawl, and he found himself overtaken with the violent urge to go and wash his own hands.

He hastily hurried out of his office and to the bathroom, which was, ironically, one of the dirtiest places on earth, and began to wash his hands. Whenever he was stressed, cleaning something, even himself, always seemed to calm him down. After he was done he splashed cool water on his face to further collect himself. Unfortunately it seemed to have the opposite effect. Why was he this stressed out over nothing? Why was his heart beating quicker than normal? It wasn’t because of Eren was it? The kid hadn’t even done anything out of the ordinary! They’d barely even exchanged words!

 _Calm down . . . Calm down you piece of shit_ , Levi thought to himself, and a few deep breaths later he was calm. Completely back to normal even.

That’s right.

 _Nothing_ rattled him.

Especially not some stupid little intern.

He left the bathroom and passed by Erwin and Armin who were walking back to Erwin’s office together. When they made eye contact with him they both immediately straightened up and seemed to quadruple the space between them, and Levi rolled his eyes in annoyance at the pair. This was why office romances were frowned upon. Not only did they hardly ever work out, but they made everyone else feel awkward because the two involved in the romance felt as though they needed to hide it. Of course, Levi wasn’t the dictator of what Erwin did in his personal life with his personal time, however he would be a passive bystander and watch how this turned out. He didn’t know much about Armin, but if he could be friends with a little temperamental shit like Eren there probably wasn’t much hope for a lasting relationship.

Eren. Eren was _so_ cute. Levi wondered if Eren’s nipples were pink or brown.

And then he tripped over air and apparently the sound of him stumbling was so loud that someone from two offices over rushed out to check on him. But Levi wasn’t having it.

“Dr. Ackerman are you –

“Fuck off! And why is this rug like this?! Someone was playing in the hallway and moved it over to the right two extra inches and that’s why I tripped over it! Fix it, but fuck off first!”

Levi would drown himself in work now.


	6. Chapter 6

Hange sat quietly in their office, mulling over the only thing that mattered to them now.

How would they get Levi and Eren together?

It was a tall order, what with Eren seeming oblivious and Levi being, well, himself. But Hange knew the truth of the matter, especially from the latter’s side. Weeks ago when they’d first set eyes on Eren and learned that Levi had in fact _not_ hired him, it was made clear to Hange what the reason had been almost immediately. One, Eren was cute and two, if Hange knew Levi at all, they knew that Eren was his type.

Not just his type, but his _ideal_ type.

Over the last decade and a half of being at Levi’s side, Hange had picked up little hints here and there of what features Levi liked in a person, and they were all totally opposite to his own. He liked the exotic looking type, with huge beautiful blue-green eyes, long eyelashes, a warm smile, a cute button nose, pouty lips – the list went on and on and one only needed to look at Eren to find more of the outward qualities Levi favored. Unfortunately Hange would disagree in terms of what personality they thought best suited Levi. After all, Hange knew what Levi would ultimately prefer: a quiet partner who would stay at home and wait on him hand and foot all day.

Well, actually, _most_ men would probably prefer that type of partner.

But Hange wanted better for their grumpy coworker. Levi needed someone that would challenge him every once in a while, that wouldn’t let him get away with just anything, and that would push him to become a better version of himself. He needed someone that would tell him, “that’s enough for today, it’s time to come to bed” and “it’s okay, why don’t we take a break for now and finish this up tomorrow?” It was no secret that Levi was a certified workaholic, and although that wasn’t necessarily something to be ashamed of, too much of _anything_ was a bad thing.

Perhaps his need to work came from his desire to always have control over his situation. If anything ruffled Levi’s feathers it was things happening spontaneously. The man’s day could be utterly ruined by something as small as a meeting time changing from five o’clock to eight o’clock. Levi ran a tight ship, which was part of the reason why Erwin was so necessary. When it came to managing the business, he was Levi’s opposite, and preferred to take things as they came. Somehow this always worked out for him too: in all their years of working here, Hange couldn’t think back to a time Erwin had been stressed out about anything. Erwin expressed concern about things every once in a while, sure, but he never got stressed.

And while Levi never showed it, Hange could tell when the man was stewing over something. He wasn’t as in control over his aura as he thought he was, and this was another thing he needed in a partner. Levi _absolutely_  required someone that could figure him out without him having to explain himself: if the situation allowed for it, Levi always defaulted to using as few words as possible. And he wasn’t a poet or eloquent speaker by any means; most of the times his short sentences and phrases had to be deciphered as well, and this could be challenging for most. Not challenging in a ‘finding the intentionally hidden meaning in this interwoven, elegant labyrinth of words, ’ sort of way, but challenging in a ‘has this person ever held a proper conversation before?’ kind of way. Obviously Hange could see through Levi’s words and attitude at this point, but they had no interest in dating him. What Hange truly wanted was for Levi to be happy. He hadn’t dated in years to their best recollection, and Levi had stopped speaking of his private sex life years ago as well. Whether it had stopped or not, Hange had no idea. As they’d all grown older Levi had slowly become more anal about having people he didn’t know very well in his apartment, and Hange guessed that if he couldn’t even entertain guests in his home, he probably couldn’t sleep with just anyone either.

Thinking of Levi’s private life made Hange think of Petra. The woman had an obvious crush on Levi and had been interested in him for a few years now. They had even gone on a couple of dates, but this too had been years ago, and Levi refused to speak about whether or not he saw a future with the petite redhead. Petra had continuously shown perseverance in her desire to be in a long-term relationship with Levi, and she never gave up even after it seemed as though Levi wanted nothing to do with her in a romantic way.

Hange wasn’t a dating expert by any means, but they didn’t think Petra was a good match for Levi. Petra was entirely too agreeable. She conveniently liked everything Levi liked and she wasn’t the type to ultimately deny him of anything. They may fuss over something, but in the end Petra would always give in, and that was the opposite of what Levi needed. The man tended to run over most people in his life which was why Hange had teamed up with Petra in order to give him a taste of his own medicine. Levi wasn’t spoiled by any means, and he worked for everything he had, but his ego was huge and he was the greediest person they knew. Hange didn’t know much about the details, but they were aware that Levi hadn’t grown up with much, and as a result he’d become stingy. Again, Hange saw nothing wrong with Levi wanting to keep his money and items to himself, especially since he earned his money and everything he owned, but Levi had never experienced the joy of sharing or providing for someone else. At least, Hange didn’t think he had.

All of this led Hange to their belief that Eren was the perfect match for Levi. Not only did Levi need him to become a better person, but the two suited each other. Opposites _did_ attract, and with a little guidance, Levi could potentially woo Eren (whether or not Levi would accept their help would remain to be seen though). Eren seemed like the type who liked to be around people who challenged him. He didn’t like a “yes-man” and he had a natural talent for arguing. Eren probably could have been a lawyer or a judge if he really wanted to, because watching his interactions with Jean allowed Hange to see that Eren always had an answer for everything. He probably wouldn’t give up unless he absolutely felt that he had to, and Hange trusted Eren’s judgement on the matter. The boy knew when he’d been defeated, and he knew how to walk away, but it would probably be rare to see him do so, and _that_ was what Hange liked about him.

However, Hange had to admit that they still didn’t know much about Eren. What if Levi just wasn’t his type in both looks and personality? What if Eren wasn’t even gay? Hange was _pretty_ sure he was since they had a good gaydar, but they weren’t always right. Eren could be bisexual and lean more heavily towards girls, which would make it even _more_ challenging to get him to be open to the idea of dating Levi. Plus, kids his age weren’t as open to dating older people as the media portrayed them to be. Yes, Hange was aware of the Erwin and Armin situation, and that was great, but what were the chances of having _another_ intern/co-CEO relationship? Especially when the intern involved was oblivious to his effect on Levi and the co-CEO was a certified devil? Could this really work? Was Hange in over their head?

Maybe they were, but they wouldn’t give up without trying. Their next move was to just straight up _ask_ Eren what his type was in order to get a feel for whether or not a potential relationship was possible. The rest of their plan was a work in progress because it was going to require patience and careful planning to get Levi to do what Hange wanted him to do. They would have to gently nudge him in all of the right directions without letting him in on their plan, because as soon as Levi knew what was going on he’d probably shut down, call Eren ugly straight to his face, and ruin his chances of ever being happy.

Hange knew Eren wouldn’t put up with Levi’s bullshit for long. He was nineteen and wouldn’t allow himself to be tied down to someone who couldn’t appreciate him. Although Eren seemed to be unaware of his own charms and probably didn’t think he had much to offer, he wasn’t some insecure child who would graciously take what he was given. If he thought he could do better than Levi, he damn well would, which was why Hange had to seriously have some sort of talk with the older man. At this point in the game, Levi couldn’t just throw around insults and call Eren names as casually as he wanted to. Hange expected them to bicker and tease each other at some point in their relationship, but right now it was too soon. Levi had to reign it in and actually _try_ to woo Eren, which was going to be a challenge because Levi hadn’t ever truly tried to do anything in his entire life. Hange could admit that he was naturally good at almost everything he did, but that everything did _not_ include relationships, especially romantic ones.

Perhaps it was a bit foolish to be so invested in Levi’s life. And yes, maybe Hange should be worrying about their _own_ private life, since they too were single, instead of worrying about Levi’s. But Hange just _knew_ that Levi was lonely and they were certain that Levi entertained the idea of being in love at least _once_ in his life. Humans wanted to be loved and Levi was no different, and the fact that he never showed it just made Hange believe that he was more deserving of it than anyone.

Sure, Levi’s personality was trash: he was bitter and smug, when something went wrong he wasn’t responsible for it, yet he took all the credit for whenever things went right, he obsessed way too much over cleanliness, he didn’t like to share his things, he would probably be _extremely_ possessive over Eren once he had him, he didn’t trust anyone, and he’d never completely opened his heart to anyone either. Anyone who knew of Hange’s thoughts would probably think they were attempting to ruin Eren’s life instead of making it better by trying to force Eren to be with someone so toxic. But those people didn’t understand Levi like Hange did.

Deep down inside . . . really, really, _**really**_ deep down inside, was a person who just wanted someone to accept them for them. It was a person who would do anything to see someone they truly loved smile. It was a person who would unconsciously start to change and come out of their shell once they were made to feel as though it was safe to do so. And the ultimate problem lied with getting Eren to stick around and give Levi the time to work through his demons. Levi might curse at him, might bully him, and might even reject him multiple times, and if Eren ever decided that enough was enough, that would be it for Levi and Hange didn’t want that.

The bottom line was that Hange knew people. They _understood_ people. Hell, people made up the basis of their job!

Thus, their belief that Levi and Eren would be a perfect was to be taken with nothing less than complete seriousness. They would move forward with the plan for sure . . . but first they really needed to talk to Eren. It was quiz time!

* * *

“Hey Eren,” Hange said, approaching Eren casually on his lunch break.

Eren looked up from his phone and immediately put it to sleep, offering Hange his full attention. “Hey Hanji. What’s up?”

“I just wanted to talk to you if that’s okay. Are you up to it?”

“Um yeah. Am I in trouble?”

Hange smiled at Eren’s ability to sense the underlying seriousness of their impending chat. Obviously, this wasn’t a true test or anything, and Eren couldn’t give any wrong answers, but it definitely pleased Hange to know that Eren was so good at reading the mood.

“You’re not in trouble at all!” Hange chuckled, taking a seat across from Eren. “I just wanted to talk about _you.”_

“About me?” Eren asked. “Sure. What do you want to know?”

“I’m not going to beat around the bush, Eren. What’s your type?”

Eren immediately blushed and his eyes began to gravitate towards anything in the room that wasn’t his superior sitting across from him. Was Hanji serious with this question?

“U – um . . . Hanji, do you –

“No Eren,” Hange laughed, reaching across the table and patting his hand assuredly. “You’re adorable, but I promise I don’t have a crush on you. I’m just curious. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to though. I’m not forcing you.”

“Well, I have to admit that the fact that you’re asking me makes me a little suspicious,” Eren said quietly. However, his mood quickly changed to reflect one of seriousness and determination before adding, “But I respect you with my entire being Hanji, so I’ll answer your question with sincerity and integrity.”

 _Wahhh he’s so cute!_ Hange screamed in their head, nodding for Eren to continue.

“My type is Erwin.”

“. . . E – Erwin?” Hange asked, trying not to take the response personally. “Isn’t he with –

“Yes,” Eren groaned. “He and Armin are totally perfect for each other, and I’m okay with that because I want Armin to be happy, but yeah. That’s my answer.”

“Well, I can’t say I don’t blame you. Erwin is pretty great, isn’t he?”

“He’s kind, gentle, handsome, and encouraging. He always has a smile on his face and he has a great sense of humor. He’s literally charming without even trying. He’s perfect,” Eren explained.

Looks like it was time for a more direct approach.

“Eren, what do you think of Levi?” Hange asked, manipulating the tone of their voice so that they didn’t sound even _slightly_ suspicious. All these years of working with people was truly paying off because Eren was so comfortable at this point that Hange was sure he didn’t suspect a thing.

“He’s alright,” Eren said, shrugging his shoulders lightly. “Kind of weird.”

“What advice would you give to someone who might want to ask him out?”

“Don’t.”

“Eren!” Hange scolded lightly. “Don’t say that!”

“I don’t know him that well but he doesn’t seem like he’s really interested in dating.”

“Perhaps he’s the kind of guy that doesn’t show his emotions very well?”

Eren nodded and smiled. “Yeah, that’s a possibility. I think he just acts the way he does because that’s what people have come to expect from him. It’s called a self-fulfilling prophecy. He’s sort of stuck with his cold demeanor because it would be too shocking for him to act any differently . . . but I know he can be nice. He made me feel better at the restaurant after Jean made me contemplate stabbing him with my butter knife.”

“You know, I’m obligated to report that, but I won’t since you said something nice about Levi,” Hange laughed. “But I agree with you Eren. You know, you’re better at human resources than you think.”

“Maybe . . .”

“Have anything else to add?”

Eren looked as though he was racking his brain for something more. “He hates cake.”

Hange frowned. “That’s not true. He _loves_ cake.”

“Really?”

“Yup. Especially strawberry cake.”

“I like strawberry cake too,” Eren expressed, smiling fondly. “Maybe I can make him one? If you tell me what _your_ favorite type of cake is.”

Hange smiled knowingly. “I like yellow cake with chocolate frosting. Are you thinking about making me a cake for my birthday?”

“W-what?”

“It was just an assumption since my birthday is only a couple of months away. If you’re not, it’s fine.”

“Well, I am . . .” Eren grumbled quietly, promising himself that the next time he saw Eld he was going to find out whether or not he clued Hanji in on his plan.

“I can’t believe Grumpy said he hated cake!” Hange groaned. “That liar!”

“I _thought_ he was lying. Everybody likes cake!”

“No Eren, Levi _adores_ cake . . . no one has ever baked him a cake.”

Eren frowned, eyes wide and filled with sympathy. “Really . . .?”

“No one likes him, Eren.”

“I-I’ll make him a cake!” Eren promised, unknowingly falling right into Hange’s web of deceit. Well, it wasn’t _totally_ a web of deceit. It wasn’t true that no one liked Levi, but it _was_ true that no one had ever gone to the effort of baking him a cake.

“His birthday is Christmas day.”

Eren nodded. “I’ll remember it. I’ll try to get it to you on the 23rd or 24th and you can deliver it to him for me.”

That sounded all fine and dandy, but Hange planned for Levi and Eren to be together by then. However, there was no harm in letting Eren believe that Hange would be giving Levi that cake. 

Hange decided to go for one more line of questioning. This is where it truly counted.

“On a scale of one to ten, how cute is Levi?”

Eren needn’t answer the question. The blush on his face was indicative of what he thought, but a number would still be nice.

“W-why are you asking me that?”

“I’m just curious,” Hange smiled, playing their cards right. “I’ve got a friend that’s really adorable and I think that he and Levi would make a really cute couple – that’s all.”

“Levi’s gay??”

“Well, he’s open.”

“Oh. Well, I guess about a nine? D-does that help?”

“Tremendously.”

* * *

After Hanji disappeared back to their office, Eren felt strangely warm, like his face and ears were on fire, and it made him sick. He wasn’t sure what confused him more: why Hanji had asked him all those questions or why he was still blushing five minutes after they’d left. Forcing him to picture Levi in his head and rate him made Eren feel more like a virgin than ever. He’d been ignoring it to make it easier to hate Levi, but _of course_ he was attractive: wasn’t it obvious? Eren was thoroughly impressed by what he saw the first time he laid eyes on Levi at the initial job interview a month ago. But when he'd found out how much of a piece of shit Levi was he’d sort of forgotten all about it. What good are your looks if you’re ugly in your heart? Eren was much more likely to be attracted to someone that was ugly and had a great personality rather than the other way around. That’s why he was so attracted to Erwin. The man was the complete package: decently handsome, _and_ he had the perfect personality. He was a much better catch than Levi in Eren’s opinion, even if Levi was super hot . . .

B-but he was only thinking about this for the sake of Hanji’s friend! If anything he was just getting his own thoughts straight if Hanji ever decided to come back and ask him some more questions. Admittedly, it peaked his interest when it came to Levi dating. It was easy to have a crush on him at first sight, but after talking to him, how could _anyone_ remain attracted to him? Especially when Levi had a natural talent for making people feel as though they were boring him to death. Eren was beginning to feel bad for Hanji’s friend because if they truly liked Levi then that rejection was going to sting. He vaguely wondered how many hearts Levi had broken in his lifetime. It was probably so easy for Levi to disregard someone’s feelings too. After all, when a person didn’t have any feelings they probably didn’t have the ability to care about anyone else’s . . .

Well, no, that wasn’t true and it wasn’t fair for Eren to continue to lie to himself. Levi had expressed kindness to him in the restaurant, so he clearly had feelings. Eren could tell by his expression that once Levi had realized that he’d been crying, he empathized with him. Although, Eren wasn’t sure if this proved that Levi experienced feelings on the same level as most people _or_ if it simply proved that Levi wasn’t a psychopath. If anything, it probably proved the latter.

A small part of him wondered if Levi had ever expressed that sort of kindness to someone who he rejected. Could he be nice about it when telling someone, “no, I don’t like you”? Was this possible for him? After all, Eren had a hard time imagining anybody ever rejecting Levi, but part of being human involved being able to put yourself in the other’s shoes without having been in that position yourself. Eren was extremely empathetic, especially when it came to strangers. It was a quality he’d grown to appreciate about himself, even though it made people laugh when they saw him crying over movies. And he’d learned by now that he absolutely _could not_  watch movies with animals. Even good endings with animals made him cry!

Allowing his thoughts to drift to something else that wouldn't make him as emotional, he thought back to Hanji’s assertion that Levi _did_ in fact like cake. Eren wondered what kind of face Levi would make when he realized that someone had done something just for him? No, Eren wasn’t expecting a full-on smile and laughter, but he at least hoped that Levi would relax a little and visually appear to appreciate the gift. Eren wasn’t even expecting a “thank you” although he didn’t need one – he could tell when he made people happy just by their body language. Something else to ponder was why the hell Levi had lied to him and told him he didn’t like cake? Was the man so proud and masculine that he thought it made him girly to like cake? Because if that was true, Levi had issues.

Actually, now that he thought about it, almost everything he knew about Levi pointed to him having issues. He silently wished Hanji and their friend good luck when it came to courting Levi before deciding to get back to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was mostly mental dialogue and I'm sorry, but it was necessary for the story! Things are getting SO close to heating up, I promise!
> 
> Also, I'm getting pretty sick of Eren hyping up Erwin. Erwin might not be THAT great of a guy...


	7. Chapter 7

It really was too bad that Levi was impulsive. He should have waited on Hange to do more explaining before busting into their office like some sort of stalker. Plus, the conversation he'd barged in on was sure to seal his fate for the remainder of the time Eren was here.

“Levi!” Hange gasped, gazing at him as if they expected him to walk in. “Don’t tell me you overheard ‘Eren’ and ‘boyfriend’ in the same sentence and came rushing in?! What a knight in shining armor Grumpy has become!”

Levi scowled at the assertion but made no move to storm out of the room. In fact, he didn’t say or do anything other than cross his arms, waiting for Hange to explain to conversation they had previously been having on the phone.

“Can I help you?” they asked, eyes gleaming with hidden mischief that Levi was blind to.

“Eren has a boyfriend?” he asked.

It was almost pathetic how hard Levi was trying to act uninterested, and Hange tried not to laugh knowing that the mockery would only serve to piss Levi off more.

“Maybe. Who wants to know? Are you –

“No.”

“But why else would have come in when I mentioned that Eren could be getting a boyfriend soon??”

“Tch. I was just curious about the terminology of the sentence. What do you mean by ‘getting a boyfriend soon’?”

“Well, if you’re _that_ curious,” Hange giggled, turning around in their office chair giddily. “I’ll tell you . . .”

“Forget it,” Levi growled. “I don’t want to know and I don’t care.”

“Yes you do. You’re scared that your green-eyed cutie is going to get swept away, aren’t you?”

“What the hell are you talking about??”

At this point Hange couldn’t control the giggle that escaped their mouth. Levi actually _did_ look horribly confused at this point, but that was because he probably hadn’t considered how well Hange understood him. The only person that was supposed to know and understand Levi was Levi himself, and it was understandable that he was feeling threatened by Hange’s language.

“I _know_ Levi,” Hange said, lowly and creepily like some mad scientist. “I. _Know.”_

Levi rolled his eyes. “I’m leaving.”

“What a shame!” Hange cried dramatically. “Eren is going to be swept off his feet by that tall, handsome, blonde haired, blue-eyed, body-building, Bentley-driving, gun-slinging, Rolex-wearing, tap-dancing, French-speaking, Opera-singing man! Farewell my beautiful Eren!”

Wanting to hear no more, Levi stomped over to the door and jerked it open where he ran straight into the bane of his existence. Actually, Eren bumped into _him_ and his forehead collided straight with Levi's chin. It didn’t hurt obviously, but Eren still apologized.

“Oops, I’m sorry Levi! I was just going to ask –

“Out of my way, _slut,”_ Levi hissed with all of the venom in his voice before pushing past Eren.

He didn’t get very far before the spine of a book collided with the back of his head and he whipped around, eyes ablaze with rage.

Eren was staring back at him with just as much anger, arm raised and poised with another book at the ready.

“What did you call me?” Eren asked smoothly, arm shaking with fury.

“You heard me,” Levi responded just as smoothly. _“Slut.”_

“I’m _not_ a slut,” Eren growled. “Or maybe you wish I was so you could get a piece of me?”

Victory was Eren’s as Levi’s façade crumbled under the insinuation. With his tail between his legs he scurried off, leaving Eren feeling quite proud of his win. After collecting the book that was previously used as a weapon, he entered Hanji’s office as planned and sat down in the chair on the opposite side of the desk.

“Did you hear what that weirdo said?” Eren asked suspiciously. “Where did he get that idea from?”

Hange’s mouth had dropped open as soon as Levi had called Eren a slut and remained open the entire time. Never had they thought that something so uncalled for would leave Levi’s mouth. Levi had it _bad_ for Eren, and it was even worse than Hange had thought. What was just expressed had been pure jealously and yeah, maybe they had gone too far in their description of the imaginary man that was coming to take Eren away, but still, they hadn’t expected Levi to get _that_ upset over it. This . . . this changed everything. What were they going to do? How would they explain this to Eren?

Levi obviously hadn’t meant to _truly_ hurt Eren. Whether or not he thought Eren was a slut was a different story, but Hange couldn’t allow Eren to believe that Levi thought he was some whore. Hange would definitely consider apologizing and telling Levi the truth - that there was no man and that Eren didn’t have a boyfriend - because what was supposed to kick Levi into action ended up making him run away. Hange had been on the fence about whether or not introducing competition into the equation was a good idea. On the one hand, they were pretty sure that it’d be a bad idea, and it was just confirmed that it was. On the other hand, a part of the them felt like Levi needed to understand the gravity of the situation. He couldn’t just beat around the bush forever, and Hange refused to allow him to derive satisfaction from continuously bullying or blowing Eren off. Levi _was_ that type of person obviously - the type to tease the one he liked - but Eren wasn’t going to tolerate that forever! And if Levi didn’t take some initiative Eren was going to walk out of his life without ever knowing Levi’s true feelings for him!

Speaking of which, that had _also_ been confirmed at this point. Hange didn’t know if it was love yet, but Levi most definitely had a crush on Eren.

And no matter how perceptive Eren was, being called a ‘slut’ was in no way, shape, or form going to clue him in that Levi liked him.

 _This is your fault Levi_ , Hange thought, reaffirming in their head one last time if they were sure they were going to do this. _You leave me no choice._

“Eren,” Hange said slowly. “I need to talk to you something . . .”

* * *

Levi was sweating bullets by the time he reached his office. After speed walking past everyone and looking like a mental asylum escapee, he was holed back up in his impenetrable cave where he could free his thoughts without the judgment of others. He locked his door, drew the curtains, and then plopped down on the leather couch, wishing he had alcohol to make himself feel better. Unfortunately any alcohol was kept locked up in the break room, it was the middle of the day, _and_ he was on the job, so he would just have to settle on tea to make himself feel better.

But honestly, looking over at his favorite tea bar _didn’t_ make him feel any better, because Eren’s words were echoing in his head. The fact that he couldn’t come up with a comeback like usual and had ended up tapping out made him want to kill himself. He’d called Eren a slut without even fully understanding the situation and had been unable to explain himself too. So what if Eren had a boyfriend? That shouldn’t be too surprising given how stunning Eren was. And if Eren liked tall, handsome, blonde haired, blue-eyed body-builders that drove Bentley’s, Levi was shit out of luck. He had a feeling that Hange had embellished part of that description, namely the tap-dancing, Opera singing, and gun-slinging part, but it still hurt. And he hated that it hurt, but it did. What hurt even worse was because in that moment he’d made the brief connection to Erwin based off of that description, and he remembered Eren practically confirming that he thought Erwin was a hot piece of ass.

No, it wasn’t Erwin’s fault that he was so charismatic, but this . . . may or may not have been the first time Erwin has attracted the attention of someone Levi was interested in. This happened once or twice in college, and after that Levi had just given up. For  _years_ he held a grudge and blamed Erwin for it too, but he knew he couldn't anymore. It was probably his own fault that he couldn’t attract someone’s attention for more than a few seconds, because as soon as he opened his mouth he lost his opportunity. However he’d never been _this_ inept until it came to Eren. Levi couldn’t tell if he was angry at himself for being so attracted to Eren, or if he was angry at the fact that Eren found Erwin attractive, or if he was angry at Eren for _being_ so attractive. In the end, his anger probably stemmed from a lousy combination of all of the above. And he wasn’t even sure _why_ he was so angry. If he didn’t get a grip soon he was going to regret it. He would only be turning thirty-five in the next few months and he was _struggling_ to cover grey hairs due to having to deal with the stress of life. Adding Eren to the mix was probably going to make it even worse.

Life would have been so much better had Eren not showed up that fateful day a month and a half ago. Levi had tried to remove Eren from his sight as quickly as possible but the kid just _had_ to be brat and follow him into the interview room. And then he had the nerve to yell at him and tell him that he wasn’t going to leave until he hired him. And _then_ that little shit had managed to get hired anyways!

Whenever someone yelled at him it brought out the beast in him. **_No one_** raised their voice at him. It was so fucking rude and disrespectful, not to mention it was also a good way to get his fist in their face. But Levi didn’t mind Eren yelling at him, probably because he was so desperate to talk to him in the first place. That night he’d gone home and entertained the idea of having such a cutie under him yelling something else. He’d managed to keep his feelings in check for a while of course, but now it was clear he couldn’t control his emotions anymore, and it made him sick that his emotions controlled _him_ rather than the other way around. And it was all Eren’s fault.

Eren, that cute brunette with the big doe eyes and long eyelashes and pouty lips that should be wrapped around his cock rather than spouting insults at him.

Levi felt sick for thinking that. Eren probably wasn’t even twenty years old yet. He was probably a good kid too . . . or he was a horny little brat out getting dicked down every night. Levi had no clue about what Eren did in his private time and he had no right know. He probably didn’t _want_ to know. 

Again Levi’s mind managed to return to Eren’s famous words that nearly brought him to his knees in the middle of the hallway:  _“Or maybe you wish I was so you could get a piece of me?”_

 _Fucckkkk_ how dare he say something like that. Eren _knew_ what he was doing too. He's probably used to using that god-like power to bring men to their knees. Also, Eren’s insinuation was a bit troubling too, because his mind wouldn’t have gone there for no reason. Did Levi look like he wanted a piece of Eren? Had it been that glaringly obvious? And did Eren realize it? Because if Eren ever became aware of how he felt then Levi couldn’t come to work anymore. Or rather, he couldn’t come back until Eren returned to school, because Levi wasn’t willing to accept gambling on trying to steer clear of Eren all day.

Either way, he would have to face him again because he needed to apologize. Though it hadn’t seemed like he’d hurt his feelings in the moment, Eren didn’t need that looming over his head. He could be the biggest slut in town and Levi would still want him, and pretending like he didn’t was just shameful. However that didn’t mean would ever date Eren, because Levi could be honest with himself just this once and accept the fact that Eren could do better.

Eren didn’t need someone who was currently unzipping their pants and stroking the _fuck_ out of their obscenely hard dick to images their mind had no business conjuring up. Levi wasn’t going to feel better until he allowed himself this ecstasy though, because thoughts of Eren sucking and riding his cock hadn’t left him alone since the beginning, and after resisting the urge for so long Levi felt like he deserved to give into temptation just this once.

Eyes closed and head relaxed back into the leather of the couch, Levi felt like a teenager again as he allowed his mind to create the absolute filthiest images of Eren it could. The sad part about it all was that his mind probably couldn’t do Eren the true justice he deserved. Eren’s body was probably gorgeous under those clothes, probably beautifully tan with smooth, youthful skin, and just enough fat for Levi to grab hold of. For his own bad intentions he’d checked out Eren’s ass once or twice and confirmed that it was probably just as shapely and full as he imagined it would be. Those beautiful tan globes would fit nicely in the palms of his hands and Eren would croon and beg for more as Levi squeezed and massaged that tawny flesh. He’d manhandle Eren onto his back and get right in between those long legs and stroke both of their dicks while licking and sucking along the expanse of Eren’s neck. Eren would run his fingers through his hair and pull hard enough to hurt him, embarrassed and apologetic for causing him pain, but Levi would never let him know just how much it turned him on.

Running his fingers along Eren’s hole he’d find them easily slipping inside. Fortunately fantasy Eren required no preparation and Levi was ready to cum now and couldn’t spend any time on thinking about what it’d be like to finger Eren so hard and fast he came without his dick being touched, back arched, and eyes screwed shut in pleasure. Levi would absolutely fuck the shit out of him. Eren would struggle to breathe because Levi would pound his tight ass relentlessly, giving Eren no time to recover even if he begged for it. Eren’s knees would be digging into his sides so hard that it’d surely bruise the next morning, but it wouldn’t compare to the scratches Eren would create along the expanse of his back, trying to release that pent-up pleasure as best as he could. His young fucking virginal body probably couldn’t take it. Legs shaking and nearly sobbing Eren would cum violently, milking Levi for all he had as his ass clenched around him.

The real and present Levi shuddered and embarrassingly shot ropes of cum across the couch, the floor, the carpet, and practically every where else it could reach from his position on the edge of the couch, hunched over and heaving as he damn near couldn’t even stop. He continued to pump his flesh that seemed adamant to stay hard with one hand, and with the other he pushed his hair out of his face. It managed to remain slicked back out of his sight due to the amount of sweat his forehead gathered and Levi continued to take deep breaths to calm his racing heartbeat, all of a sudden conscious of the surrounding rooms.

Levi almost had a mini-heart attack trying to remember whether or not he’d locked the door because if someone walked in to see him, pants down around his ankles, cum everywhere and hand around his dick, he’d had to kill that person and spend the rest of his life in prison. He wouldn’t be able to explain why he did it either; he’d just have to take his sentence in stride.

Trying not to bask in afterglow of what he’d just done, Levi got to work cleaning himself and his office, removing the evidence of what had just transpired. Looking at the clock and realizing that it was only 11:30 made him want to die for the second time that day. What animal couldn’t wait until they were in the comforts of their own home to do what he’d just done? Would it have killed him to wait? He felt like the biggest ass in the world but at the same time he felt relieved for the first time in weeks.

Perhaps he’d be able to get through the rest of the work day without feeling like his blood pressure wasn’t constantly through the roof for once.

Perhaps he’d have a cup of tea and enjoy it without thinking about a certain _brat._

Perhaps he’d jerk off again when he got home too.


	8. Chapter 8

Levi decided to go against everything he knew, every philosophy he upheld, every tradition he followed, every fiber in his body that screamed at him not to do what he was going to do right now in this very moment. Dialing the number he knew by heart, he held the phone up to his ear and waited, patiently for once, for the call to go through. He was feeling nauseous.

“Thank you for calling A&E Headquarters, this is Petra speaking and how may I direct your call?”

“Petra, let Erwin know I can’t come in today.”

It hurt.

_Oh it hurt._

Levi hadn’t missed a day of work in _three years_. Even when he was on the verge of collapse last winter and suffering from pneumonia, he dragged himself into the office and bit off, chewed up, and spit out the heads of anyone who dared to tell him to go home. It was his body and his choice. Rain, shine, sleet, hail, pneumonia, or missing all of his extremities, Levi was committed to going into work. But when it came to Eren, all bets were off. Today he was missing work for the simple reason being that he was too embarrassed and ashamed to see Eren, and he just didn’t feel up to risking it today. Besides, his right arm was on fire from jerking his own dick so much last night that he probably wouldn’t be able to answer the phone properly. Even picking up his toothbrush this morning felt like lifting a bowling ball.

He knew that the company wouldn’t implode upon itself without him being there for one day, but it still bothered him that he wasn’t able to be nosy. Levi didn’t like to be out of the loop, and he always wanted to know what was happening, when it was happening, how it was going to happen, and who was going to make it happen. Missing a day of work made him feel like he was going to have a lifetime of catching up to do, but it still wasn’t enough to make him go in today. Staying home and sorting through his own thoughts, which was tough because Levi sometimes felt like he didn’t really know himself that well, was what he truly needed. He wasn’t in the right headspace to conduct business today . . . which was something else that hurt him to accept.

“WHAT?!” Petra squealed, probably alerting everyone around her that something was gravely wrong. “Are you in a coma?!”

Levi sighed, rolling his eyes so hard they almost fell into the back of his head. “If I was in a coma I wouldn’t be calling you over the phone.”

“I-I-I guess not, b-but –

“Let Erwin know, alright?”

“Wait! Are you sick?”

 _In the head? Yeah,_ Levi thought, but said otherwise. “No, I’m not sick. Just exhausted.”

“Do you need me to come over?”

“No.”

“Levi . . .”

“Are you going to let him know or not?”

Petra also sighed, her voice still filled with genuine concern. “I guess I’ll have to, won’t I? It’s not like you to up and miss work. I mean . . . you haven’t missed a day in three years.”

“Been counting?”

“N-no . . .”

“I’m going to hang up now. I’m tired.”

“No, wait –

_Click._

Levi gently tossed his phone on the coffee table and allowed his thoughts to continue to drift. Petra’s concern wasn’t unappreciated, but it was definitely unneeded, especially considering their current relationship. Years ago he’d been considering Petra, not necessarily on a serious level, but she’d damn near convinced him that they could work something out long term. She truly had a great personality: she was funny, kind, smart, caring, pretty, and everything a man could want. She didn’t make him sweat bullets and become raging mess of testosterone like Eren managed to do, but Levi appreciated her modest beauty and elegance.

He could remember when Erwin first hired her and she shook his hand. At that time she’d been unable to look him directly in the eyes due to her nervousness, but Levi hadn’t thought badly of her like he would with most. As expected, she slowly came out of her shell and within a couple of months she was the one asking _him_ out on dates, to go see a movie, to take a walk in the park, and other things of that nature which Levi would never voluntarily ask someone else to do. At first, he’d vehemently denied her requests, claiming that he was too busy to go out with her, or that he had other plans. Both excuses were usually true, but he could have made time for her if he really wanted to. However, with a little pushing from Erwin, Levi finally _did_ decide to make time for her, and took her up on her offer to go out on what he considered a friendly outing (and only later learned was a date).

She talked to him about her family, what animals she liked, what she did in her free time, some of her favorite TV shows, and other things that two people who were getting to know each other would discuss. Levi of course withheld a lot of information about himself, but he volunteered a few interesting aspects of his life: he was part French, he was pretty shit at cooking, he didn’t think cats were too intolerable, he could play the piano, and he was an only child. He hadn’t had a horrible time at all, and even accepted her offer to go out again some other time. The second time they went out she’d taken him to a teashop and Levi was sure the idea had been given to her by Erwin because he didn’t flaunt his love of tea in _anybody’s_ face.

He’d somewhat fallen for her by then and even viewed her as a potential life partner. Once the date ended he agreed to take her back to his apartment and they’d fooled around a bit, but after that his interest in her quickly fizzled out. Then he’d been faced with the “did I do something wrong that time?” question, followed by the “what are we?” question, and then came the dreaded, “can we just _talk?”_ question, and that was when he decided that he wasn’t ever going to entertain something like this ever again, especially not with a colleague. Things had been awkward between them for months on end, and he finally had to go to Hange to do something about it. Thankfully Hange had picked up on the delicacy of the situation and brought Petra’s behavior to her attention without incriminating Levi.

Ever since then, Petra had left the topic of whatever they had together alone, and to his knowledge she was over him. She _had_ to be: years had passed since their fling. Sometimes he wondered if she was seeing other people. If she did, she never mentioned it, and she rarely took time off of work. Furthermore, she usually spent her weekends with the other coworkers, and she still sometimes invited him to go out with the 'gang' (as she referred to their colleagues) to which Levi always said no. He wouldn’t call himself a hermit, but he didn’t really like to hang out, especially now that he was older. What was the point? If people wanted to ‘hang out’ with him they could see him at work.

Speaking of work, the very least he could do was get on his laptop and check his stocks. Seeing how much money he was making always served to make him feel better. He stood up and headed towards his office, but a knock on his front door made him stop in his tracks. The knock didn’t come again, however that familiar sensation of being watched did and suddenly he felt like he could _hear_ the breathing. The breathing that could belong to only one person.

“Leeeeeeviiiiiii . . . .”

It was like being in a horror movie. Only the killer didn’t want to slash your throat open and allow you a quick death. No, this type of killer wanted to talk you to death _slowly_ and _painfully._

“I know you hear me Levi and I know you’re in there. I can taste you on my tongue.”

Hange was officially the biggest creep in the world and although Levi was forever questioning their friendship, he knew that he couldn’t ignore them forever, and decided to open the door and grant them entry into his home. Allowing Hange into his office was easy since that wasn’t his space, but allowing them into his _private_ home was a different matter. A man’s home was sacred …

“This better be important,” Levi grumbled to himself, ripping open the door to give Hange a piece of his mind. “Why –

_Eren._

Eren was with them.

“I was worried about you.”

Who said that?

Wait, Petra was here too??

“Why are all three of you here?” Levi asked, knowing that he couldn’t just leave them all standing outside of his door.

“Petra said you were sick,” Hange explained. “So we came over to see you.”

“Whatever.”

As the three made their way into his apartment, Levi led them all over to the couch where Eren sat as far away from him as he could. Levi couldn’t tell whether this was a blessing or not. Honestly, it was probably a good thing seeing as this was the kid he’d masturbated to all night long. Being close to him now probably wasn’t a good idea.

“So, what’s the big idea??” Petra asked, quizzing Levi as if she were his mother. “You've gone three years without missing a day of work. Now all of a sudden you don't come in?”

“I don’t feel well . . .”

“What’s wrong?”

“I just don’t feel well, alright!” Levi griped, now wishing that he’d ignored them all and pretended to be asleep. “What part of ‘I don’t feel well’ don’t you understand?!”

Hange shook their head in mock disappointment. “Grumpy, have you had your tea yet?”

“As a matter of fact, I haven’t.”

“Want me to make you some?” Petra asked.

“No. I don’t want you touching my stuff. In fact, just having you three sit on my couch is stressing me out. I _just_ cleaned it.”

“You’re definitely not sick, Grumpy,” Hange observed. “So what’s _really_ wrong?”

“What’s wrong is that I’ve got three coworkers in my house interrogating me as if I don’t have a right to call off of work.”

“Eren hasn’t even said anything!” Petra defended.

Something about Petra saying Eren’s name irritated Levi, and this was the part of the conversation he always regretted.

“Why did you even bring that stupid little cow along with you anyways?”

Eren looked greatly offended but said nothing, and instead pulled his feet up on the couch. An evil little smirk adorned his face and he narrowed his eyes as if proud of himself for doing something that would get underneath Levi’s skin.

“Oi you! Get your feet off of my couch!”

Eren continued to rub his shoes on the couch and only stopped when Hange asked him to. The conversation was going nowhere and at this rate Levi felt like he really _was_ going to get sick.

“We should let Levi rest,” Petra said gently, standing up to leave and hoping Eren and Hange would follow her.

“We haven’t even been here that long, though!” Hange whined, checking their phone. “It’s only been three minutes!”

“Yeah, and that’s three minutes I can’t get back,” Levi agreed. “Now move your ass. You too Eren.”

With Hange whining all the way there and Eren following behind them quietly, the three made their way to the door and both Petra and Hange left. However, Eren stopped before completely stepping out and turned around to offer his final parting words.

“Sorry about your couch, Levi.”

Levi was visibly shocked, and after a moment of gazing into Eren’s eyes and memorizing the color of those enchanting irises he just couldn’t get enough of, Levi responded. “It can be cleaned, brat. Sorry about yesterday.”

“You’re sorry?”

“Tch. I’m not gonna say it twice.”

Eren looked as though he took a deep breath: _too_ deep of a breath. It made Levi nervous because he hadn’t really mastered the art of speaking to Eren, and if Eren was about to hit him with some sort of bombshell he wasn’t sure if he wasn’t going to be able to respond correctly. What could Eren possibly be going to tell him? Hange and Petra had already walked down the hallway, so Eren didn’t have to be conscious of their presence when he spoke.

Levi felt his heart start to pick up when Eren licked his lips nervously. The boy’s eyes were wide with an emotion Levi couldn’t even begin to decipher. And he didn’t really care to decipher it either, because right now he was too busy studying the contours of Eren’s face and committing it to memory. God he was cute. Everything about him was perfect, and if Levi looked closely, he could see about seven freckles lying across the bridge of Eren’s nose. He had the perfect cupid’s bow upper lip, and underneath a fat bottom lip that Levi would love to suck on. He could smell his body soap, coconutty and citrusy, two flavors that were undeniably feminine, but they only made Levi that more aroused since they came from _his_ adorable Eren.

Finally, Eren spoke.

“Well, if you’re really sorry you should take me out on a date. Want to?”

Levi was sorely disappointed in his own response.

“Fuck you.”

And he slammed the door in Eren’s face.

* * *

_**Yesterday . . .** _

“Eren,” Hange said slowly. “I need to talk to you about something . . .”

“What’s up?” Eren asked, a part of him wondering if it was going to be about Levi.

“Eren . . .” Hange murmured again, and this time Eren sat up in his seat, wondering if Hanji was in pain. It sure sounded like it from the strain in their voice.

“Yes??”

“Levi is . . . _Eren!”_

“WHAT?!” Eren gasped. “What’s wrong?!”

“Levi is . . . Levi is in love with you!”

“ . . .”

“Well, it might not be accurate to say he’s _in love_ with you,” Hange explained, correcting themselves before Eren got the wrong idea. “But I don’t want you to take anything he says or has said to you personally.”

“Hanji . . .”

“You have to admit that you’ve noticed something,” Hange begged, trying to look for any acceptance in Eren’s eyes. “Haven’t you noticed the way he acts around you?”

“I haven’t interacted with him much, but out of all of the times I have, he’s been pretty insufferable, except for that time at the restaurant.”

“That’s because he can’t get a handle on his own feelings.”

“Well, I kind of suspected that. He’s obviously got some demons he’s fighting, b-but I didn’t think he would like . . . _me._ I’m a kid, Hanji.”

“Eren, please don’t doubt me on this one. How do you kids say it nowadays? Levi _like likes_ you.”

Eren blushed and sat back in his seat, feeling highly embarrassed over the situation. It couldn’t be true. Levi had called him a brat so many times, and Eren was _sure_ that Levi thought of him as a child. He and Levi couldn’t _possibly_ ever get along romantically: his stomach did a summersault at the very thought! Weren’t they way too different? Wouldn’t their age gap get in the way? Of course, Armin and Erwin seemed to manage just fine with their age gap, but Erwin actually _liked_ Armin and _tried_ to get along with him. That’s how relationships worked after all. Both parties had to actually like each other.

“I thought you said you knew someone interested in Levi?” Eren asked, although he was pretty sure what Hanji’s excuse for that story was going to be.

“Oh, I lied.”

Eren gasped. “Hanji! I’m shocked! The human resources manager lied to me!”

“I needed to know if you were as attracted to Levi as he is to you before I attempted to push you two together! Forgive me Eren!”

“He’s attracted to me . . .?”

“Eren, have you looked in the mirror?”

“Ugh, Hanji,” Eren groaned. Now he _definitely_ didn’t want to look in the mirror. “You’re going to make me awkward around him now.”

“No! One of you is going to have to stand up and assume some responsibility and that someone has to be you!” Hange said, and at Eren’s confused glance they explained further. “Emotionally Levi is about twelve years old, so Eren, you have to be the one that initially guides this relationship. Grumpy won’t open up to you until he’s sure you’re in it for the long-haul. If he messes things up, yells at you, calls you names, or tries to shut you out of his life, please forgive him and give him a chance to apologize and correct his behavior, because he _always_ comes around. I _promise.”_

“This sounds stressful,” Eren admitted. “Also Hanji, I’ve never really had an actual boyfriend, so I’m not sure as to what you mean when you tell me that I have to guide this relationship. Aren’t relationships supposed to happen naturally?”

“That’s the problem, Eren! Levi is so emotionally stunted that a relationship won’t happen naturally for him. He needs to be pushed.”

“But what if he’s just content being alone? Some people are like that?”

“Eren, _everybody_ needs someone.”

Eren didn’t look convinced so Hange added, “And look, if you don’t want to put up with it, I’ll understand. You’re probably wondering why I’m trying to play cupid between you two and that’s because the human resources manager in me can see the potential that you two have! I know it’s hard to believe, and I know it may seem like I’m trying to trap you in a horrible situation, but you have to trust me!”

“I barely even know him!” Eren exclaimed. “I’m not even sure that I like him yet!”

“Eren, don’t lie! You _know_ you want to wake up beside Grumpy and cook him breakfast every day and get dicked down by him every night!”

“HANJI!!!” Eren screamed, and by now his face was so hot he felt like he was running a fever. How did Hanji even know what that meant? Wasn’t that a young people thing??

“He can become a great provider, Eren! Just give him a chance!”

“O-okay! You know, when this is all over he better grovel at your knees!”

Hange smiled, relieved that Eren was going to try. “Don’t worry. He will. Also, if you’re curious about anything, you can come and ask me. I don’t know everything, but I’ve been studying Levi for a long time and I think I have a good understanding of his personality and overall life.”

“No way,” Eren stated. “If this is going to work, I want him to volunteer his personal information. He’s not going to get away with his current attitude and if he tries it, I’ll just go and find an Erwin.”

“I understand.”

“And . . .” Eren began, trailing off and contemplating his next words. “If he’s as lonely and sorry as you make him out to be, then I don’t mind trying to make something work.”

“Eren,” Hange almost cried, eyes crinkling and smile growing even larger. “Thanks.”

“But don’t blame me if this takes a long time,” Eren added. “I’ve never been in a real relationship, I’ve never had a boyfriend, and I’ve never fallen in love. I know what I want in a man and I won’t accept anything less.”

“You run a tight ship Eren . . .”

Eren smiled cheekily. “Well, if I’m as adorable as you say, I should have no problem getting anyone I want, right?”

“Oh boy. Levi’s got his work cut out for him, huh?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I SWEAR this is going somewhere, just bear with me! xD


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place the same day as yesterday's chapter, but from Eren's point of view. 
> 
> Also, to those who celebrate it, Happy 4th of July! And if you don't, I hope you have a good day as well!

Eren thought that the possibility of he and Levi ever having a relationship had come to a screeching halt when Petra ran into Hanji's office and announced that Levi was dying. Immediately Eren felt his heartrate pick up, and he was in the room within seconds, wondering if it was true. As the atmosphere sizzled and Hanji stared wildly at Petra, Eren could already feel the tears starting to form and if someone didn’t confirm that Levi was _not_ going to die in the next five seconds he was going to start sobbing. Sure, Levi had been pretty shitty to him and Eren didn’t know that much about him, but Hanji had assured him that Levi had a thing for him and dammit, Eren didn’t want Levi to die before he had a chance to truly confirm it!

Last night after he’d gone home, he sat and played his PS4 and stewed quietly over the information he’d learned yesterday. In the comforts of his own room, he finally felt brave enough to contemplate _it._ Well, _it_ included many things, but he started with the main idea, and that was being in a relationship with someone fifteen years older than him. Eren had been ready to jump into a relationship with Erwin only a few moments after he met him, but he hadn’t at all considered the age gap. The difference between Erwin and Levi was that Erwin was funny, understood his and Armin’s humor, and surprisingly knew what a “meme” was. Armin had also confirmed that Erwin was correctly able to use the phrase “dab” and knew what it meant to be “shook”. Eren doubted that Levi knew any of those words even existed, and as far as Eren could tell, Levi didn’t have a sense of humor period.

Eren had doubts that he could get along with someone that couldn’t make him laugh. Not only that, but what the _hell_ would they talk about? All Eren knew were memes, Anime, Xbox, and food. Actually, Eren didn’t really even feel like he knew food all that well anymore because he’d gone to a restaurant and couldn’t understand 70% of the menu! Levi would want to discuss business and politics and Hume, whoever that asshole was, and Eren would only be able to sit and listen to him. They obviously didn’t like the same type of food either, because if Levi hated curry then they were going to have a serious problem, and if Levi hated _sushi,_ well . . . all bets were off. It simply wouldn’t work out and Eren would have to kiss him goodbye.

He didn’t like to think about kicking Levi to the curb over his food preferences since that wasn’t something someone had control over, but Eren _loved_ Oriental food. He loved cooking it, eating it, studying recipes, and it would break his heart if Levi also didn’t like it. He’d already given up on the hope that Levi would like Anime and Xbox, so if they couldn’t connect over food it _really_ wouldn’t work out.

Another thing he was contemplating was . . . intimacy. Obviously, Levi probably had experience in bed, and that was fine because Eren wasn’t too comfortable when it came to sex, especially between two men. He’d watched porn and knew what to expect, but he had no doubts that it would be different in real life. Could he really lay down and let Levi do . . . _things_ to him? If they actually had sex, Levi would have to . . . Oh _God,_ Eren didn’t want to think about it. He couldn’t even think about kissing Levi let alone having sex with him. What if Levi was completely silent? No, what if _Eren_ was completely silent? That was no fun, right? What if it really wasn’t that intense and Eren had no need to make any noises? Or what if it was so good he screamed like a whore and Levi told him to shut up because he had neighbors? What if when it was over Levi told him he didn’t like it? Because Eren was _sure_ Levi would have no problem pointing out all of his flaws.

For Eren’s sake, he hoped that Levi knew what he was doing so that he wouldn’t be scarred for life after his first time having sex. But he also didn’t want Levi to be _too_ good either because Eren didn’t want to be reduced to a whiny, moaning slut! Besides, porn was all fake right? No one moaned _that_ loud, so sex couldn’t possibly be that good, right? If it was, surely he would have done it by now!

Unfortunately, this train of thought brought upon him a slew of new questions that popped into his mind so quickly that he couldn’t even answer them all. What if Levi didn’t want to top? What if Levi made him _get_ on top? What if he said no and Levi forced him? What if Eren started crying and Levi kicked him out? What about the morning after? What was he supposed to say? Thanks? Was it proper to thank someone after sex? What if Levi made him go home the night it was over? Would Levi tell people about it? What if Levi filmed it and then used it to blackmail him? Would his parents find out? They’d probably be mad if he had sex with someone fifteen years older than him, wouldn’t they? Oh God, he would eventually have to introduce them to Levi! What if they didn’t like Levi? What if Levi didn’t like them?

The onslaught of unanswered questions made Eren nervous and he was suddenly kicking himself for getting so worked up over this. The problem was that it wasn’t happening naturally. He and Levi were supposed to meet in the office. He was supposed to be shy, but friendly, and Levi was supposed to shake his hand and introduce himself in a way that made Eren fall in love with him. However, Levi wouldn’t know that he was in love with him right away, and as the days turned into weeks, they were supposed to start slowly becoming more aware of each other. Maybe Levi would hold the door for him, maybe Eren would make him lunch one day, and then suddenly Levi would ask him if he wanted to go out and get some coffee. They’d do so, and Levi would tell him he was beautiful and Eren would blush before sheepishly excusing himself and going home. The next day Eren would walk into his office to find a bouquet of roses from Levi and a handwritten note in cursive explaining that he wanted to see him again. For their second date Levi would take him to a nice restaurant (one in which Eren could read the menu) and after leaving Levi would take his hand and say that he really liked him and they’d share their first kiss.

After making sure he was completely comfortable with it, Levi would take him back to his apartment and they’d snuggle on the couch and watch the latest Avengers movie and Levi would slowly slide his hand along his bear thigh and Eren would blush before initiating a kiss that led to a make-out session. _This_ would lead to an extremely consensual mutual exchanging of hand-jobs. They’d fall asleep on the couch and wake up the next morning, disheveled and groggy, but refreshed and excited over having reached second base. After showering (not necessarily together because it’s still too early for that) and sharing more morning kisses, they’d grab breakfast at a small café before heading into work together positively glowing and holding hands.

And after that . . . well . . . Eren didn’t actually _know_ what happened after that because that was all Armin had told him concerning his and Erwin’s relationship! He’d almost melted into a puddle of goo when Armin told him too, because Eren only thought relationships like that happened in the movies. But no, they were real, and Armin had gotten to experience it. Eren used to be so concerned about Armin doing everything before he got to do it, but now he was beginning to think that he didn’t mind allowing Armin to have sex first so that he could ask about pain levels and discomfort. Well, Armin would probably see Heaven because Erwin was such a gentle giant. Eren couldn’t imagine Erwin causing Armin, or anyone for that matter, any pain at all. However, his polar opposite and counterpart Levi was a different story. Eren just wasn’t ready for Levi’s Sex Dungeon yet, and he didn’t think he ever would be!

Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. The fact that Eren had the mind to be concerned over trying to accomplish intimacy with Levi was probably a good sign that he wasn’t ready for this. Or rather, he wasn’t ready to try to _force_ a relationship, even if it _was_ for Levi’s sake (and his own as Hanji had promised him). Somehow, he ended up believing Hanji that this relationship would be good for him too. They’d promised that Levi, with due time, would come to love him and would be as good of a partner as Erwin, and potentially even better than Erwin. Eren told them that he’d have to see it to believe it.

But, Eren wasn’t pessimistic about this whole thing. He was a natural born optimist, and if Hanji believed that he could bring out the best in Levi and somehow inspire him to become a better person, then he would certainly try.

After all . . . it wasn’t as if Eren didn’t want this. He found Levi more physically attractive than Erwin anyways, and if Levi suddenly developed a personality then Eren wouldn’t dare think the 'E' word ever again. Really he had no business thinking about Erwin so much. Erwin was with Armin and he wanted them to be happy. Eren just wished that Levi would step up his game so that he could fantasize about a hot guy without feeling guilty about it!

Back to the present, Eren breathed a sigh of relief when Petra revealed that Levi was just sick and _not_ actually dying.

“I can’t believe it,” Hanji muttered. “Levi taking a day off of work. Jesus must be coming back!”

“The end times are most certainly near!” Petra agreed.

Eren laughed at their propositions before asking, “So I’m assuming Levi never takes days off of work, huh?”

 _“Never,”_ Hanji stressed. “You two know what this means right?”

“We get to use a company car to take a company trip using company gas??” Petra asked hopefully.

“I’ll get the keys to the Jaguar!” Hanji announced excitedly, making sure to grab Eren’s wrist to let him know that he was invited too. Eren didn’t mind going at all actually. He was pretty curious as to where Levi lived anyways, and if he was sick, maybe Levi would derive a little bit of happiness from seeing him . . .

* * *

The complex was even nicer than Eren thought. When he saw the elephant fountain coming into view behind a 20-foot-tall locked gate, he knew that they were entering rich-folk territory, and that weird feeling started to envelop him again. It wasn’t as though he felt like he didn’t belong or that he wasn’t worthy enough to be here. After all, he'd quickly worked through those thoughts of insecurity after the whole restaurant debacle. Since he was still employed with the company over a month later, he _definitely_ deserved his position and he deserved to walk, work, and frolic amongst these people, and that included their homes. Still, seeing something so elegant and fancy always tongue-tied him.

Once Hanji had buzzed them in with an 8-digit passcode, Eren watched as the gates swung open and they made their way into a large parking garage where they parked on the ground floor due to the amount of open spaces there were. Rich people had to work too, Eren guessed, a fact that was also contrary to all of the movies he’d watched. Perhaps it was time to stop relying on movies so much since they always seemed to lead him astray.

Curiously following behind his coworkers, Eren marveled at Hanji as they buzzed in for a second time - this time to the doors of the actual building. The only thing Eren had ever come into contact with that was protected by a passcode was his phone, computer, and his school locker. This was all pretty amazing to him – almost as amazing as getting to see his reflection in the floor of the elevator.

Together they ascended to the 6th floor before getting off and walking to Levi’s room. Amazingly there were only four rooms on the entire floor, so the apartments must be huge and it was making Eren even more giddy to see where Levi lived. He could almost _see_ the stainless-steel countertops and impressive kitchen when Hanji knocked on the door once before allowing their arm to drop to their side. And then, Eren wasn’t sure if it was him or if he was just imagining it, but Hanji’s breathing seemed to become heavier, and soon they were calling out to Levi like a serial killer trying to coax their victim out. He imagined Levi seething on the other side of the door.

“I know you hear me Levi and I know you’re in there. I can taste you on my tongue,” Hanji added, now pressing their forehead against the large and imposing door.

Just as Eren was beginning to wonder if this was how Hanji always weaseled their way into Levi’s apartment, the door swung open to reveal Levi _not_ in business attire, and it immediately sent Eren into a panic. Seeing Levi in a wife beater and sweatpants, hair disheveled and looking like he’d just woken up was confirmed, not good for the heart. Eren didn’t even try to avert his gaze from Levi’s muscular shoulders and the prominent clavicles that sat below his neck. He watched the man’s Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed and said something about the three of them being there, but Eren couldn’t be bothered to hear his words. And then Levi was about to turn around and lead them in and Eren was praying the Levi didn’t have nice traps to accompany those strong ass shoulders because if he did, he was going to lose it.

 _Don’t have nice traps, don’t have nice traps, don’t have nice traps,_ Eren was repeating to himself, trying not to look when Levi turned around. But obviously he couldn’t _not_ look and _fuuuccckkkk_ now Eren was drooling. Why was this happening to him? And he wasn’t the only one affected because Petra’s eyes were glued to Levi’s back too, watching those muscles flex and move as Levi led them over to the couch.

Once they reached the couch Eren knew it was in his best interests to stay as far away from Levi as possible. He could tell the man hadn’t showered yet and smelling the scent of day-old cologne combined with Levi’s natural musk would probably send his brain flying out the window. If he jumped Levi in front of Petra and Hanji, he’d never forgive himself and Levi probably wouldn’t either. While Eren was telling himself all of this, he was _still_ aggressively scenting the air trying to catch a whiff of him.

He needed it, he needed it, he _needed it so badly_.

And then he caught it. It was the very faint smell of the Burberry cologne Levi had been wearing in the restaurant. Previously the scent had done nothing for him, but now Eren’s mouth was watering over it. He wanted Levi’s body on his own and he didn’t know what that meant or what it looked like, but he knew he wanted it. He wanted the man _all over him_. So did Petra by the looks of it, but Eren couldn’t blame her. He wasn’t dumb and could tell that Petra had a thing for Levi like bees had a thing flowers, but if Levi hadn’t responded to her advances yet then Eren supposed he wasn’t too worried about it. Plus, if he was Levi’s type as Hanji had promised, there was _no way_ that Levi could find Petra attractive at all, right? Thus, Eren would graciously allow her to find Levi attractive and fantasize about him, because it was going to be Eren that Levi was fucking pretty soon.

_Whoa._

Where had _that_ come from? Had he gone from a blushing virgin bride to ready and willing to take on Levi’s Sex Dungeon?? In _one_ night?!

It was Levi’s fault. How dare he answer the door with a sexy bed head and his upper body all jacked and on display like he was some kind of swimsuit model. Unbelievable. And speaking of him answering the door like nothing was wrong, wasn’t he supposed to be sick? He didn’t look sick at all! If anything he looked . . . well, Eren wouldn’t go there again. His heart probably couldn’t take it.

“Why did you even bring that stupid little cow along with you anyways?”

Knowing that Levi was talking about him without even being a part of the conversation, he was momentarily offended at being compared to a cow after he’d given Levi so much mental praise, and he _finally_ looked at him, however he was unable to speak. Levi was leaning forward, elbows resting on his knees, and before Eren lost his cool yet again, he pulled his feet onto Levi’s nice leather couch just to irritate him. That’s what he gets for comparing him to a barnyard animal! Perhaps Eren wouldn’t be so offended if Levi was comparing him to an adorable baby cow, but Eren knew better than that. By “cow” Levi meant the biggest, fattest, dirtiest, heifer cow to ever have existed.

“Oi you! Get your feet off of my couch!”

Eren continued to rub his shoes into Levi’s couch and only stopped when Hanji turned to him and asked him to knock it off. Not a moment later Petra stood and announced that they should all leave, and before he knew it Levi was ushering them all out of his house. As expected Hanji was protesting the early departure, but Levi continued to herd them out as if they all really _were_ cows (which was probably how Levi saw them, so the depiction wasn’t entirely inaccurate).

However, Eren felt as though he had to say something before he left. If he didn’t he’d end up going the whole day without speaking to Levi and he couldn’t let that happen. Plus, Hanji told him to not be shy around Levi, and that forcing him to communicate was his best option when it came to moving things forward.

“Sorry about your couch, Levi,” he apologized, trying not to smirk at Levi’s shocked expression.

For a moment Levi was silent, and Eren was beginning to wonder if he’d said something wrong, but Levi eventually acknowledged his apology much to his relief.

“It can be cleaned, brat. Sorry about yesterday.”

Eren hadn’t expected an apology in return, especially not for the ‘slut’ comment. He still had no idea where it came from either - he should have asked Hanji about it yesterday when he had the chance.

“You’re sorry?”

“Tch. I’m not gonna say it twice.”

Again Eren breathed, this time actually allowing himself to get slightly aroused from the amazing scent that was coming off of Levi in waves. He was so close to Levi too, and he couldn’t help but make eye contact with him, studying those stormy grey eyes and wondering what Levi could possibly be thinking. Eren was pretty good at reading people’s facial expressions and body language, but Levi didn’t have many facial expressions, and Eren didn’t want to get too ahead himself when it came to analyzing Levi’s body language. He couldn’t be sure, but with the way Levi was leaning slightly to the right with one forearm pressed against the doorframe above his head, staring down at Eren hungrily like a piece of meat, his body language almost seemed to scream, _I want to fuck you_.

Now Eren was nervous, and he didn’t want Levi to be able to tell he was nervous because it was humiliating. He felt like Levi was sucking the very soul out of his body right now and he wished that the older man would fucking blink because Levi’s gaze was unwavering and powerful. It was the kind of gaze that made Eren want to take his clothes off, drop to his knees, and suck Levi’s dick until he was cumming down his throat. Fortunately Eren was too entranced to get flustered over his dirty thoughts, so he stood there perfectly still, continuing to stare into the void that was Levi’s eyes.

His own eyes briefly made a detour to the rest of Levi’s face, sliding down his cheeks and straight to that jawline that looked like it could cut diamonds. Eren wanted to run his tongue along the expanse of that jawline too, and down his neck and over that protruding Adam’s apple that was just asking to be bitten. He wasn’t sure how many minutes passed, but he was almost content with standing there analyzing Levi’s form forever.

Finally, after what felt like ten minutes spent mustering up the courage, Eren spoke once more.

“Well, if you’re really sorry you should take me out on a date. Want to?”

He’d really done it now. Had that been too bold? Eren always _dreamed_ of being the one asked out on a date, but he’d suddenly taken it upon himself to do the asking. How could he not though? Levi was just standing there looking way too hot for his own good and Eren couldn’t help but let the question slip. After all, if he didn’t ask first, how long would he be waiting for a date? A few more weeks? A couple of months? Besides, what was the harm in asking? Hanji said that Levi liked him, right?

“Fuck you,” Levi said, and slammed the door right in his face.

So . . .

At this point Eren had a few options at his disposal: he could bang on the door and demand a different response, he could stand there and give Levi a chance to change his mind, he could go crying about it to Hanji, or he could pretend like this didn’t happen and forget _all about_ Hanji’s crazy notion that Levi liked him . . . yeah, he’d go with the fourth one.

Trying not to walk robotically over to Hanji and Petra waiting at the elevator, Eren controlled himself when Hanji asked him what was wrong. He explained to them that he’d told Levi to get some rest and Levi had responded with a ‘fuck you’ before slamming the door in his face. He obviously wouldn’t tell the truth in front of Petra, although he didn’t see why he shouldn’t. Perhaps if she knew that Levi couldn’t stand him she might feel inclined to ask him out instead, and Hanji’s wish of Levi getting a girlfriend would be granted and Eren could return to his normal life. He thought he could feel Hanji staring at him but he didn’t want to talk about it. He honestly couldn’t talk about anything right now because if he opened his mouth a slew of curses at Levi and accusations of Hanji being wrong were sure to come out of it.

Eren didn’t even want to go back to work he was so pissed off.

Two words from Levi had caused his whole mood to change and Eren couldn’t believe how much control he’d given Levi over his demeanor. If this was the kind of person he’d turn into by being around Levi, Eren would no longer give him the time of day. He definitely wasn’t a fan of this foreign feeling he felt aching deep inside of him . . .


	10. Chapter 10

Levi managed to drag himself out of bed the next morning, but a text from Hange had quickly ruined his day and it’d hardly even begun.

 **Hange:** _Hey dummy. I’m working on bailing you out this time, but if you hurt Eren again you’re on your own._

Of course, he’d known exactly what they were referring to and he honestly didn’t need a reminder because he’d been shitting himself over it all day yesterday. Also, he didn’t like how familiar Hange was with this whole situation. It seemed as though every time he and Eren came into contact, Hange was the puppet master behind it. Or perhaps they weren’t _necessarily_ the puppet master, but they were always somehow involved. Levi knew that Hange absolutely _was_ the type of person to go out of their way to set something up like this, but would they really try to get Eren involved? Even if Hange was aware that he liked Eren (which Levi was pretty sure they were) was Hange really okay with setting Eren up like this?

And yes, it _was_ a set-up: definitely not the good kind either. Eren didn’t deserve to be strung along by him. In fact, Eren deserved the person he truly wanted, which was Erwin. Erwin would be much better for him anyways, better than Levi could ever be. Actually, Erwin was probably out of the question now because he seemed pretty involved with Armin, and the last few conversations he’d had with Erwin all involved Armin. And Levi had to sit and listen to that nonsense while selfishly wishing that Erwin wasn’t so fucking happy without him.

Erwin was oblivious to his struggle though.

Everyone was, except for Hange.

And Eren probably didn’t think he was struggling - he probably just thought he was an asshole. He could almost imagine what Eren said to Hange yesterday when they left his apartment. It probably consisted of Eren asking _why_ Hange wanted him to be friendly with Levi when it was obvious that Levi couldn’t stand him, which was so unbelievably untrue that it made him sick. Yes, Levi didn’t know much about Eren or his personality, hobbies, likes, and dislikes, and while Eren was probably like every other teenage boy in terms of those things, nothing Eren could ever tell him would be deemed unimportant. Levi truly wanted to know everything about Eren that made him _him._

But if he couldn’t respond any better than ‘fuck you’ to Eren, then he didn’t deserve the brunette's attention. It was all so confusing. If he knew what Eren deserved then why couldn’t he be that person? Why wasn’t he good enough to compete for Eren’s affection? Levi _knew_ how to be kind and accepting – he’d done it with Petra after all . . . Kind of . . . No, he  _was_ kind and accepting towards her and he was _going_ to give himself credit where credit was due! Why else would she have stuck around and tried to make something work with him?

The real question was about what made Eren different to him. Levi truly wondered why he couldn’t just be nice to him. What was wrong with him? Why did everything directed towards Eren that left his mouth have to be rude, condescending, or insulting? Sure, he liked to tease Eren and get a rise out of him because it was cute, but there was a difference between that and just being downright cruel.

As he drove to work Levi began to contemplate Hange’s text about bailing him out when it came to Eren. First of all, Hange had never called him a dummy and Levi thought it was pretty bold of them to do so considering he could fire them whenever he wanted. And the comment about him being on his own the next time he hurt Eren was _threatening._ What did they mean by him being on his own? What assured them that there was going to be a next time anyways? At this point Levi was pretty sure Eren was done with him and there was probably nothing Hange could say or do that would change his mind.

Levi had never asked anyone out on a date.

Never.

 _Not once_.

And honestly, he didn’t really know how to. It was probably as simple as just asking, but he was betting that there was a way to do it to achieve maximum effectiveness, which was what he needed after how much of an ass he’d been to Eren. He wondered, if he asked Eren out on a date, would he also be responsible for picking the restaurant? He didn’t even really know what kind of food Eren liked! Luckily he had enough sense to avoid the restaurant they’d all went to last time, but where does a 19-year-old like to go and eat? Eren could forget about going to some greasy pizza place or Mom and Pop restaurant. If the bill didn’t end up being over two hundred dollars then it wasn’t good enough for Levi. And if it wasn’t good enough for him then it certainly wasn’t good enough for Eren!

Before he should even be contemplating a date though, he _should_ be hoping and praying that Hange straightened everything out. He hated having to rely on them to fix his mistake, but Levi promised himself that it wouldn’t happen again. His impulsivity sometimes got the better of him, but if he was to convince Eren to consider him, he needed to get a fucking grip.

_Now._

Before it was too late.

So yeah, hopefully Hange would fix everything! 

* * *

After swiping his card and entering the building, he was greeted by Petra who just happened to be walking out of a room on the ground floor level, but in reality, she was probably waiting on him to ask him how he was doing. Although Levi appreciated the concern, she was the last person he wanted to see. Well, maybe she wasn’t the _last_ person he wanted to see. Technically _everyone_ could count as the last person he wanted to see – everyone except Eren.

“Levi!” she greeted him, stopping directly in front of him with a set of documents clutched in her grip. “Are you feeling better?”

Could he even answer that question honestly?

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Good! We’re having an executive meeting today at twelve-thirty in our regular conference room. Apparently, we’re merging.”

“This is what I get for spending one day off,” Levi mused quietly to himself, glaring hard at Petra even though this wasn’t her fault. “The meeting isn’t necessary. I’ll shut the idea down before ten.”

Petra laughed, the sound girly and airy, and all Levi could think about was whether or not Eren would have laughed at something like that. Speaking of Eren, Levi wondered where he was. He desperately wanted to patrol the building for him, using a different excuse for why he would be walking around aimlessly of course, however it would have to wait until after he made a few calls regarding the idiotic merger idea.

“Oh and Levi –

Levi cut her off by walking away and taking the nearest flight of stairs to get to his office. The sooner he could get this done, the better.

* * *

“Eren, _please!”_

“No.”

“EREN!”

_“No.”_

“Don’t do this to him, Eren!!!”

“I don’t care.”

“Eren, why are you so cruel?!”

Eren had spent the last hour rejecting Hanji’s apology on Levi’s behalf. It wasn’t actually even an apology though; it was more like a request to simply excuse his behavior that day because he was ‘sick’. And Eren didn’t know what kind of spell Levi had cast on Hanji and Petra, but he was _not_ sick yesterday. He’d probably just woken up late and decided that instead of hustling to get ready, he’d just ditch and stay home. It happened. Eren did it all the time at school, and if he’d known Hanji was going to be on his case like this, he would have done it today!

“Hanji, I need to complete this assignment,” Eren said, trying to juggle between talking to Hanji and entering numbers into Excel. “Can we talk about this later?”

“No, because you’re going to rush out of here as soon as the clock strikes five,” Hanji said seriously, scooting even closer to Eren on their office chair. “Eren, listen to me.”

“I am listening.”

“No, _really_ listen to me.”

Sighing, Eren turned away from the computer and towards Hanji, arms crossed and lips drawn into a straight, apathetic line. “Go on.”

“First of all, let me remind you that you accepted that Levi might reject you a hundred times before agreeing to have anything to do with you, right?” Hange asked. “This was one of those one hundred times. So he still has ninety-nine chances.”

“Okay, but that’s ridiculous,” Eren said. “I’m not going to let him push me around and wait on him to get his shit together like Petra.”

“Petra??” Hange asked. “What does she have to do with this?”

“Come on Hanji, didn’t you look at her yesterday? She was practically eye-fucking him. We _all_ were, but it still annoyed me.”

Hange looked nauseous for a moment before swallowing. “Please don’t accuse me of that. And Eren, what Petra and Levi had happened a long time ago and it’s over.”

“What?! They had something?!”

“It wasn’t even really a something. In fact, it wasn’t _anything!_ It wasn’t even a thing! It was a _nothing!”_

Eren wasn’t buying it. “No way. It had to be something. Why else would Petra still follow him around like a lost dog? Why would she cling onto something that she knew she had no chance of rekindling?”

Hange sighed, considering their answer carefully. “I’m not sure, Eren.”

“The answer is that she’s still in love with him.”

“And?! Levi is completely over her! In fact, he probably never loved her in the first place! She wasn’t able to win him over after two dates three years ago and she won’t be able to win him over now!”

“What?! They went on dates?! I thought you said they never had something?! Dates are something! Ugh! I’m even less sympathetic with his plight now! He can ask her out on a date and reject a date from the person he apparently likes?! _I_ even asked _him!_ I’m done!”

“So that’s it?!” Hange yelled, now matching Eren’s tone of voice. “You’re calling everything off over two little words??”

“I’m calling it off because he already has someone who will give him all the love and affection he needs!”

“But he doesn’t like her . . .”

“Well that’s really unfortunate. A lot of men would kill to have someone like Petra waiting on them hand and foot. I don’t see what his problem with her is. She’s pretty and nice.”

Although Eren was simply making an observation about Petra, his voice was full of acid and resentment towards the woman. Eren hated that he was already so jealous of one of Levi’s past lovers when Levi hadn’t even made any _real_ indication that a relationship was possible between them. But like an idiot, Eren had been so hyped up by Hanji’s revelations that he couldn’t help but believe he and Levi were going to become involved. At nineteen-years-old, Eren was overly idealistic, but it was time to let reality sink in. This just wasn’t happening. And it was stupid for Eren to keep holding onto to hope when he could just as easily date someone who wasn’t so problematic.

“What if Levi apologizes?” Hange offered, trying to steer the conversation away from Petra. “Will you give him another chance?”

“No,” Eren mumbled bitterly. “Me asking him out on a date _was_ his chance. All he had to do was say one word. He failed the easiest test on earth.”

“But –

“Besides, he would only apologize because _you_ told him to. He probably doesn’t even think he has anything to be sorry for. He probably expects me to run back to him, totally unbothered, like nothing even happened. I refuse Hanji. Let me move on.”

“Oh Eren,” Hange murmured quietly and mostly to themselves. “You’re _so_ stubborn . . .”

Eren shrugged. “I’m nineteen, Hanji. I say I’m going to do one thing, something happens, and then I feel like doing something else. I’m fickle.”

“. . .”

“And don’t text him!” Eren growled, startling his superior who was desperately trying to convey what was probably an important message to Levi. “Don’t tell him how to win me over because it won’t happen! I said I’m done!”

“. . .”

“Hanji, what are you telling him?!”

Hange sent the message before dramatically standing up. “I told him it was over and that he could just resume his normal life. He won’t bother you anymore.”

Eren didn’t need any human resources knowledge to tell that Hanji was pissed at him as they turned around and briskly walked away. And how _dare_ Hanji be mad at _him_ when this was all Levi’s fault! Sure, Eren promised to give Levi opportunities to prove himself, but when Levi couldn’t even agree to go on a date with him, weren’t all other bets off?! What was Eren supposed to do? Sit back and wait on Levi? What if he found another boyfriend in that time period? What if six months from now Levi decided that he _might_ want to consider a relationship with him and Eren had already moved on and was with someone else? Did Hanji just expect him to break up with whoever he was dating so that he could crawl back to Levi like some starving animal?!

He didn’t give two _shits_ if Levi had issues with his emotions! What Levi needed was therapy and medication, not a love life! He clearly wasn’t ready to date anyone seriously if he couldn’t even get his act together enough to spend two hours in a restaurant having a meal with someone! Eren would have even been fine with a movie, and that would have worked out great for Levi because they wouldn’t even have to talk! There was absolutely _no_ reason for Levi to deny him of this request. Being ‘sick’ or in a bad mood did _not_ excuse his answer. Maybe Petra would put up with that bullshit, but not Eren!

And speaking of Petra, what was up with them?! They seriously dated?! For how long?! And where did they go?! And _why?! **And how**_?? _How_ could Levi go out on a date with someone who – according to Hanji – he never even liked or seriously considered, but he was _supposedly_ serious about Eren and he couldn’t go out on  _one_ date with him?! What was it about Petra that made her more date-worthy than himself? Had Levi also had a discussion with himself about their age gap? Perhaps that had been the deciding factor in his decision to say no, and if that was the case, then Hanji was in for a lot of disappointment because they would _never_ be together. Eren would just have to accept that Armin and Erwin were a special case and that it was _rare_ for two people with a fifteen-year age difference to be able to get along.

Especially when one of those people was _damaged goods._

And guess what else? Levi wasn’t getting that cake.

Or maybe he _would_ get that cake.

Through the mail with a _bomb_ inside of it!

Okay, that was probably too far. Eren didn’t want Levi to die. After all, he’d almost cried over him possibly dying yesterday.

Although . . . that was _before_ Levi had rejected him.

Anybody who rejected Eren Yeager didn’t get his tears.

Once he’d finished his mental tirade, Eren gave his attention back to the Excel spreadsheet and sighed when he had to go over all of the information from the beginning to get back into his rhythm. Stupid Levi. Eren didn’t get paid sixteen dollars an hour to think about _him_ . . .

* * *

Levi’s phone buzzed and he flipped it over, seeing a message from Hange that he hoped would tell him that everything was going to be okay and that his mistake had been absolved.

 **Hange:** _Move on because it’s over. Eren hates you. Don’t apologize because it won’t work. Listen to this song and think about what you’ve done._

Attached to the message was a link to James Blunts’ _Goodbye my Lover_ and Levi groaned audibly. He’d heard the song a million times, knew the lyrics, and definitely wasn’t interested in listening to it right now. It was meant to make him feel bad, probably bad enough to where his stomach hurt and his heart ached, but Hange needn’t worry because the first two words of their text were enough to achieve the desired effect.

Now what?

Was he _really_ supposed to move on?

That was it?

He’d really ruined his chance just like that? Perhaps this was . . . for the best? On the way to work, hadn’t he been considering that this was all a set-up on Eren’s behalf that the teen didn’t really deserve? Wasn’t Eren too good for him anyways? Plus, hadn’t Levi already _known_ that something like this was going to happen? Not only was Eren too good for him, but there was another glaringly obvious problem with their relationship, and that was the age gap. Wasn’t he too old for Eren? Shouldn’t Eren be with someone closer to him in age? Wouldn’t that make Eren happier?

The answer to all of these questions was yes, but Levi didn’t want that to be answer because then it really _would_ be over.

Well, actually it was already over because Hange had clearly expressed that after everything, Eren was done and that an apology wouldn’t work. Levi couldn’t help but feel that that was grossly unfair too, but that was just him being smug about the whole situation. Even now, Levi felt like he deserved another opportunity, because deep down inside he really wanted this, and it wasn’t his fault that he had problems.

He hadn’t asked to grow up feeling unwanted by his abusive uncle.

He hadn’t asked to be raised to reject everyone who wanted to get to know him for fear that they’d eventually leave him.

He hadn’t asked to constantly feel like he had to get everyone else before they got him first.

All he wanted was for someone to _try_ to understand him, to get along with him, and to get to know him, and he didn’t feel like that was him being selfish. Wasn’t that part of human nature? Although, the selfish part erupted when he realized that the only person he wanted to fill that role was Eren. If Hange had been pushing this so hard, he felt like there _must_ be a reason behind their actions. If they truly thought that Eren would suit him, then that was good enough for Levi. To him, that was proof that he should try and make this work. He didn’t need to get to know Eren to know that Eren was supposed to be with him. If Hange thought it was meant to be, then it was meant to be.

And no, Levi didn’t believe in destiny or soulmates, and perhaps he was just using Hange as an excuse to justify his belief that he and Eren should be together because he was sexually attracted to Eren and thought he was cute, but so what?

Levi was thirty-four, almost thirty-five, and while he may not be able to control what other people did, he could always control what _he_ did, right?

He had a choice.

He could take what Hange said to heart and give up. He could move on and let Eren’s internship end without ever shooting his shot. He could live the remainder of his life wondering if he’d done all he could do to convince Eren that he could be a good partner for him.

Or he could let Hange’s words motivate him to seek out Eren right now and apologize to him. Hange had said that an apology wouldn’t work, but Levi was beginning to think that those words were just meant to motivate him. Not only was Hange trying to get him to do the right thing, but they were also threatening him with the reality of what would happen if he didn’t.

Okay, he’d made his choice. He _knew_ what he was going to do.

No thanks to Hange because he’d figured this one out on his own by the way! Well, maybe Hange helped a _little_ bit, but Levi liked to take the credit for when things went right and obviously if his brain hadn't been so powerful he wouldn't have come to this conclusion . . .

* * *

When Eren heard his voice being called out from behind him he didn’t stop walking because he knew who it was and he wasn’t interested in hearing what he had to say.

_Period._

End of discussion.

“BRAT!”

Now Eren _definitely_ wasn’t interested in hearing what Levi had to say. Calling him a brat was _not_ the way to get in Eren’s good favor. He _almost_  foolishly believed that Levi called him that as a term of endearment, but with the way things had turned out, it was probably just as bad as being called ‘stupid’ or ‘idiot’ or the ever so dreaded 'cow'.

Suddenly his arm was grabbed and Eren felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Just a few more steps and he would have been in the elevator and on his way to the bottom floor. And then he would have been in his car, on the way home, listening to Mikasa talk about business stuff he couldn't understand in the passenger seat. But right now he was here in the middle of the open hallway where anyone could walk out and see Levi standing behind him with a death grip on his arm.

“I’m sorry.”

 _For?_ Eren thought, wondering whether or not Levi would continue.

Whether or not he continued by the way, didn’t matter at all! Eren had washed his hands clean of this entire situation!

“I’m sorry for slamming the door in your face yesterday. And I’m sorry for saying ‘fuck you’ when you asked me to go out with you on a date.”

Eren noticed that even though Levi was apologizing, somehow his voice still managed to hold no emotion in it. He knew that just because Levi’s voice was monotone didn’t mean that he wasn’t sorry, but it was still hard to believe when the tone of his voice was completely flat.

“And I’d like to take you out on a date to make it up to you.”

Finally Eren turned around, completely dumbfounded by Levi’s words. Hadn’t Hange told him to give up and insinuated that there was nothing he could do to get Eren to change his mind? If so, why was Levi still trying? No way he’d gone against the grain and decided to do this on his own. Wasn’t he aware that the chances of rejection were higher than they’d ever been??

“If you’ll allow it that is,” Levi added to his previous statement.

Eren looked like he was thinking too hard about his answer, so Levi continued. “Actually, I’m taking you out no matter what and you're going whether you like it or not. Saturday. I’ll come get you. Give me your address and phone number. _Now.”_

“That’s not how you ask someone out!” Eren growled. “You have to give them a choice!”

Levi started to look embarrassed and Eren ate up the humility he was finally beginning to show.

“You’re gonna have to take me somewhere really good,” Eren threatened. “If this date isn’t perfect you have to promise to never talk, look, or think about me ever again.”

“Deal,” Levi said immediately and thrust his phone towards Eren, expecting the teen to put his number in. Eren reluctantly added his number in Levi’s phone and he wanted to kick himself for doing so after he’d spent all that time convincing himself that he wouldn’t give Levi another chance. He was really weak, wasn’t he?

“Where are you taking me?”

Levi scoffed. “I don’t know yet.”

“Saturday is like, two days away.”

“I hadn’t planned this far. Thought you were gonna say no.”

“I can still change my mind, you know.”

“You sure do like to threaten me, don’t you?”

Eren smiled, looking devious and genuinely happy at the same time. “I have to make sure you’re serious.”

“I _am_ serious,” Levi said, trying to make Eren understand without coming across as desperate and pining for Eren's consideration.

“Well, I wish I knew what you were thinking because your words aren’t convincing.”

“Trust me, you _don't_ want to know what I'm thinking, Eren.”

Eren looked confused for a moment before blushing deeply, jerking away his arm that was still in Levi’s grasp and pulling it back towards his body.

“I-I’ll see you Saturday.”

Eren scurried away leaving a proud and smug Levi behind.

Not to brag or anything, but Levi was feeling pretty accomplished in this very moment, and it was all thanks to his _own_ doing. He’d gotten Eren’s number _and_ a date with him with no help from anyone at all. Psh, he was just using his natural God-given gift and winning Eren's affection like it wasn't anything. And with the way he was developing his people skills Levi was ready to give Erwin a run for his money. 


	11. Chapter 11

After smoothly lying to his parents and Mikasa about where he was going while dressed so nicely, Eren walked down the stairs of his home and felt his mouth become dry when Levi stepped _out_ of the car and came around to the passengers side to open the door for him. Eren had threatened Levi that if this date wasn’t perfect he could forget about him, but he hadn’t expected special treatment to _this_ extreme.

“Thank you,” Eren said, suspicion laced throughout his tone.

“Don’t worry about it,” Levi responded after getting back into the car and pulling out of the driveway. “I would have brought you flowers too but I wouldn’t want you to have to explain them to your parents.”

Hearing that reminded Eren that he would eventually have to tell his parents about this; _if_ of course, the date went well and he decided to actually go through with dating Levi. He didn’t know how long it was going to be until they became ‘official,’ but he hoped that he’d be allowed enough time to figure out how to break the news to his family. Armin’s grandfather already knew about Erwin and Armin said that he reacted ‘as expected’. When Eren asked what that meant, Armin explained that his grandfather was initially confused and disappointed, but after meeting Erwin he immediately changed his initial position and was okay with the relationship.

Eren had _no_ idea how his own parents would react. He never discussed his dating life with them _ever,_  and he didn't want to shock them by bringing home someone like Levi. 

Indeed, Eren wasn’t sure if Levi could go more than five minutes without cursing or being rude, and if he wasn’t able to then they were going to have a serious problem. In the end, if Eren loved Levi enough he wouldn’t give a shit if his parents didn’t approve, but he would still _like_ for them to approve. It’d make spending Christmas and other holidays with his family easier for sure. Now that the thought about it, Levi’s _birthday_ was on Christmas Day, and if Levi and his parents didn’t get along then Eren would have to deal with spending half of Christmas Day with his family and the other half with Levi and his family.

He probably shouldn’t spend his time thinking about things that were so far in the future though. There was no way to plan for these kinds of things anyways, and Eren was more of a go-with-the-flow kind of guy. He took things as they came and usually not a moment sooner.

“Where are we going?” Eren asked curiously.

“We’re having dinner at a really nice, upscale seafood restaurant overlooking the harbor,” Levi answered casually, as if he did this all the time. He definitely didn't though.

“Oh.”

“I wasn’t really sure if you’d prefer to go somewhere casual or not, but I figured that it’s always better to default to a swankier eatery.”

“Swankier?” Eren asked himself quietly, figuring that that must be a synonym for the word ‘fancy’. “Okay, that’s cool. I really like seafood.”

“Figured you did after I saw you and your friends eating sushi.”

“Why didn’t you take me a sushi restaurant then?”

“I hate sushi.”

Critical hit.

That had been a real life, health draining, critical punch to the gut.

“Kidding. I like sushi, brat, so calm down. I can see you having a meltdown over there.”

Eren gasped, feeling his heart finally start to beat again. “Levi! Don’t lie to me like that! I told myself that if you didn’t like the same food as me then this wouldn’t work out!”

“You’d dump me over food preferences?” Levi asked. “I can’t control what I like and don’t like.”

“Well it’s not like we have much else in common . . .”

Levi hummed thoughtfully before turning down the radio that was playing quietly in the background. “I’m sure we have plenty of things in common, brat. Try me.”

“Okay. What kind of movies do you like?”

“Horror.”

“I hate horror movies.”

Levi shrugged. “Ask something else.”

“What’s your favorite TV show?”

“I don’t really watch TV all that often. I watched a couple of seasons of _American Horror Story_ and _Breaking Bad_ , but other than that, I don’t watch TV.”

“Um . . . do you like sports?”

“No. They give me anxiety.”

“Are you a morning person or a night owl?”

“I guess a night owl.”

“Wow, we have _one_ thing in common,” Eren said glumly.

“Try not to get too excited,” Levi said sarcastically, and when Eren still looked upset he tried not to get nervous and attempted to keep the conversation flowing. “Have any talents?”

“Talents?” Eren asked. “I can eat an entire box of pizza in about five minutes.”

“That’s not a talent, that’s something all kids your age can do. You can cook, can’t you?”

Eren shrugged. “That’s not really a talent.”

“And eating a whole box of pizza in five minutes is?”

“Well, can you do it?!”

“Tch. If I really wanted to I could . . .”

Eren rolled his eyes. “What about you? Play any instruments?”

“Piano.”

“Really?? That’s awesome!”

“Think so?”

“Yeah, I can’t play any instruments.”

“Give me a second date and I’ll play for you.”

“Hmm,” Eren mused thoughtfully, thinking that had been a little daring of Levi. “We’ll see.”

“Give me a third and I’ll write you a song.”

“Whoa. You can compose music?”

“Yeah I can . . . I kind of grew up around music. It's a long story . . .”

Eren grew quiet, unsure of whether or not he should ask why Levi suddenly sounded so forlorn, but he eventually decided to let it go. They were finally developing a flowing conversation and he didn’t want to ruin it.

“Where do you like to vacation?” Levi asked, clearly not wanting Eren to go there with the conversation anyways.

“I’ve gone with Armin to the lake a couple of times, but other than that my family doesn’t really take vacations. Mikasa and I are in school and our parents work full-time to make sure we can go, so we don’t really do vacations.”

“Hmm.”

“I’m assuming that because you haven’t taken a day off of work in three years, up until the other day, that you don’t vacation either?” Eren asked, giggling at Levi’s offended expression.

“If I had somewhere to go with someone I probably would.”

Eren wanted so badly to ask whether or not Levi had taken Petra on a vacation, but again, he controlled himself and didn’t go there. Levi was going out with _him_ right now, and there was no need to bring Petra up . . . although Eren **really** wanted to. He wanted so _badly_ to hear Levi’s stance on his and Petra’s relationship, but Eren had to assume that if Levi didn’t voluntarily bring it up, it must not be that important.

“Don’t go overanalyzing what I just said, brat,” Levi announced, pulling Eren out of his thoughts. “It means exactly what you think it means.”

“You mean that no one wants to take a vacation with you?” Eren asked. “I’d go with you . . .”

“. . . We’re not going somewhere goofy like Disney World.”

“Uh, what do you mean? That’s _exactly_ where we’re going. And you’re going to wear Mickey Mouse ears and share a giant turkey leg with me,” Eren explained as if it was obvious.

Levi visibly rolled his eyes at Eren’s fantasy. “In your dreams.”

“Guess I’ll have to third-wheel with Armin and Erwin.”

“That’s not happening either.”

“Well _someone’s_ taking me to Disney World. I’ve never been and I want to go.”

“. . . I’ll consider it if you give me a fourth date.”

“See Levi? That’s called compromise.”

Levi didn’t mind compromising with Eren. Disney World was somewhere he never saw himself going. He’d never been either, and it didn’t look like somewhere he’d _want_ to go, but for Eren, he’d deal with it. He might even wear around those stupid ears and obnoxiously eat a giant turkey leg if Eren really wanted him to.

He would keep this knowledge to himself though. It wouldn’t do for Eren to find out he was this whipped thirty minutes into their first date.

“Do you have any pets, Levi?”

“Fuck no.”

“Why not??”

“I’ve never felt the need to have one,” Levi said. “Dogs and reptiles are out of the question. I might consider a cat, but that’s pushing it.”

“I _love_ animals,” Eren admitted. “We don’t have any pets either, but I’ve always wanted one. Now that I’m in college it’s not a good idea, but when I move into my own place I’m getting a pet.”

“We’ll see.”

“We’ll see?”

“When you move out of college you’re moving in with me.”

“You want to live with me? You hardly know me. What if I don’t clean up after myself? What if I don’t like to make the bed? What if I like to go three days without showering?”

Levi flinched at the thought and changed his answer immediately. “Then forget it.”

“I’m joking,” Eren chuckled. “I’m okay at cleaning, but I _do_ make my bed and shower every day. I can make you food if you do the dishes?”

“I can live with that arrangement.”

“By the way, are we almost there?”

“No. It’s an hour and a half away.”

Eren paled. “What?! You’d drive a total of three hours for some fish?!”

“I’m doing this for _you,_ brat. Don’t complain.”

“I’m not . . . but I feel bad about making you drive back in the dark.”

“The restaurant’s part of a hotel. If you feel that bad I can rent us a room for the night.”

If Levi had made the comment any sooner Eren would have felt intimidated, but after hearing Levi vocalize so much and seeing how normal he seemed to be (the key word here was 'seemed'), Eren playfully countered Levi’s suggestion. “I’ll see how bad I feel after we eat.”

“I would get us a room with two beds. I’m not expecting anything from you tonight,” Levi said, this time looking over to make brief eye contact with Eren. He felt that he should since he had enough sense to know that this topic was important. “I’ll wait for you. Whenever you’re ready.”

Eren met Levi’s eyes and felt his heart race from those words. Levi had spoken with nothing but seriousness and respect for the situation, and now Eren was having a hard time wondering if getting a hotel room would really be a good idea. His mind began to conjure up images of Domestic Levi from the other day and Eren was slightly afraid to be back in that headspace. At that time he was ready to jump Levi. He didn’t want to just jump into bed with Levi tonight, because he was worried about what the older man would think of him. Eren didn’t want to seem like he was easy, but he didn’t want to wait so long that it would end up being up to him to initiate anything. He would always rely on the natural flow of their relationship, but now he was also starting to create pressure for himself that had no business being there.

He’d showered before they left obviously, so if he _really_ wanted to, he could . . . But what if once they started Eren wanted to stop? That would be _way_ too embarrassing, and it might even hurt Levi’s feelings. Now he didn’t know what to do . . .

“I probably shouldn’t have even gone there,” Levi said, having noticed Eren’s silence. “Just forget about it.”

“No! It’s okay,” Eren explained. “I was just thinking . . . and making things harder than they need to be.”

“. . . I won’t do anything you aren’t comfortable with. I’ll work to gain your trust.”

“I _do_ trust you,” Eren said. “The timing is just confusing. I’ve never . . . been in that situation before.”

“You’re a virgin?!”

Eren’s eyes widened at the sound of Levi’s voice. It was the kind of loudness someone would use to yell at someone else who was about to walk out in front of a car.

“Y-yeah! Is that a problem!? Sorry I’m not experienced yet!”

“It’s not a problem . . .”

“Okay then. Jeez, you scared me.”

Levi felt like doing a backflip right here, right now, in his seat with his seatbelt still on. He would have to keep his mouth shut for the next five minutes lest he said something creepy and uncalled for about getting to take Eren’s virginity. He wouldn’t have cared if Eren wasn’t a virgin, but he didn’t think that kids managed to keep their virginity for so long. After all, he’d lost his when he was thirteen to the sixteen-year old girl who lived next door.

He began to feel bad when he looked over at Eren innocently gazing out of the window. Eren was such a good kid. He may like to be lazy on the weekends, he may not eat the healthiest, and he may not have the best grades in school, but he seemed like a great kid with his head on straight, and Levi definitely appreciated that.

“You can put that window down, you know,” Levi offered. “I know you can’t see through that illegal tint.”

“Your tint is illegal?” Eren chuckled. “Better not get pulled over.”

“Tch. I never have and I never will.”

“Someone should have arrested you that night you stole Erwin’s parking spot.”

“Yeah, yeah. Petra already bit my head off about it and I don’t need you to.”

 _Perfect segue_ , Eren thought to himself, wanting to maniacally rub his hands together. _I’ll nail him about her when we get to the restaurant . . ._

* * *

As expected, the restaurant was beautiful and the hotel extending above it was immaculate. Levi hadn’t been kidding when he told him to dress nice, and although Eren did, he couldn’t help but _still_ feel underdressed. Levi looked impeccable in his alligator skin imported loafers, Rolex watch, and 24 karat gold chain, and those three accessories that probably cost more than his and Mikasa’s college tuition combined made him feel, well, _just a little_ informal.

Eren was so busy looking at everything that he hadn’t managed to pay attention to Levi opening the door for him, and he almost just walked away as his eyes struggled to absorb everything inside. It was dark in the restaurant, the only light coming from multiple hand-lit candles that sat everywhere, and Eren momentarily wondered if it was a fire hazard. However, he supposed that since the restaurant was so luxurious and fancy that the flames probably behaved themselves.

Following Levi like a zombie across the marbled floor, they met up with a hostess who quickly took them to their reserved table which was, as Levi promised, outside overlooking the harbor. Eren hadn’t even been aware of such a beautiful harbor existing so closely to him. After beating Levi to his chair and pulling it out for himself, Eren sat down and ignored Levi’s disgruntled look as he viewed the harbor and all that it had to offer.

“Is that a little town down there?” Eren asked, eyes drawn to what looked like a little sea village. Buildings of different shapes and sizes lined a street that seemed to extend for a little over three miles along the shore. In the distance was a weathered lighthouse that Eren also didn’t know existed, and now he was sure that he and Levi would have to come back so they could explore everything the small town had to offer.

“Yeah, it is,” Levi answered, eyes on his menu.

“I want to go,” Eren informed him, also reluctantly picking up his menu. His eyes wanted to look everywhere but his menu even though he knew he had to pick something to eat.

“There’s not much down there. Just a couple of local businesses that sell the same shit you can find at a Wal-Mart.”

“But it’s good to support local businesses!”

“We’ll see, brat. Now hurry up and pick something.”

“Hmm . . . I’ll get Chilean sea bass.”

“Fancy,” Levi praised and Eren rolled his eyes.

“I almost got the lobster macaroni and cheese but I figured you’d have something to say about it."

“Get whatever you want. Don’t let me stop you.”

“I would, but I had a whole box of pizza for lunch today so I better quit with the cheese.”

“Do you regularly consume a whole box of pizza?”

“Yeah I do: about once a week.”

Levi chuckled, closing his menu so that they could both give their drink and food orders to the waitress before resuming their conversation.

“You can’t do that when you’re my age, you know,” Levi said, sitting back and crossing his arms. “I already struggle to keep in shape.”

“I don’t think you have any problem keeping in shape,” Eren countered, now realizing that this was his chance. “When Hanji, Petra and I came to visit you we were _all_ eye-fucking you.”

“That so?”

“Yup. Especially your _ex_ Petra.”

Levi raised a brow, unable to tell if Eren was truly upset about Petra being his ‘ex’ (which wasn’t really the right term to describe her) or if he thought the situation was amusing. To err on the side of caution, Levi assumed the former.

“Petra and I didn’t have anything together, Eren. Don’t worry about her.”

“Nu-uh. That’s not what Hanji said.”

“What did they say?”

“They said,” Eren said, slowly and seriously. “That you took her out on twenty dates and fucked her so hard she lost consciousness. And _then_ she got pregnant with your lovechild but you didn’t want kids so you made her give it up for adoption.”

“You’re such a little shit, you know that?” Levi asked, but inside his heart was racing because he didn't want Eren to have the wrong impression, even though he was  _sure_ that Eren was just kidding after saying such a crazy thing. “We went out on two dates together, both of which _she_ asked _me_ for, and she gave me _one_ hand-job. That’s it.”

Eren soured. “Bitch.”

Oh no, should he _not_ have mentioned the hand-job? It probably would have been better not too, but Levi's never done this kind of date-thing with someone he really liked before . . .

“You’re not _really_ upset, are you . . . ?”

“Nah. But I’m curious as to why you didn’t date her seriously?”

“I don’t like her.”

“Why?”

“I just don’t.”

“Why?”

“Eren,” Levi sighed, exhausted with the conversation. Eren was a pretty complicated teenager. “This is supposed to be a date, not an interrogation.”

Eren also sighed, both elbows on the table and chin resting on top of his hands that were clasped together. “I just want to know.”

Seeing that Eren wasn’t going to give up, Levi thought carefully about why he didn’t continue a relationship with Petra. It was probably because . . . probably because . . . probably because . . . shit, he really didn’t know. For whatever reason it just hadn’t worked out.

“I really don’t know,” Levi answered honestly.

“She seems perfect so that’s why I wanted to know,” Eren said, looking back out over the water. “I’m like, far from perfect, so it’s a little intimidating that you dated someone like her and it didn’t work out.”

“You’re like, actually perfect Eren, so don’t worry about it.”

“You’re like, actually so close to getting in my pants tonight.”

Levi hid his nervousness behind a way too large gulp of water that hurt his throat and tried to not respond to Eren’s insinuation. He’d wanted to get into Eren’s pants the first day he laid eyes on him obviously, but now that he had Eren in his good graces, he didn’t want to ruin his chance of one day getting to absolutely wreck him. He would have to be patient and allow Eren to come to him. Levi didn’t want there to be _any_ chance of Eren having sex with him and then coming to regret it. This would have to be done the right way. There was no room for error!

Luckily, Eren steered the conversation away so that Levi could release the breath he’d been holding.

“Levi, do you know what a meme is?”

“No.”

Eren laughed. “Okay, I just thought I’d ask.”

“What is it?”

“It’s . . . too hard to explain.”

“I want to know what it is, brat,” Levi demanded, eyes narrowing as Eren continued to laugh.

“As soon as you can tell me why you didn’t pursue a relationship with Petra long term, I’ll tell you what a meme is.”

“Am I going to have to hear about Petra until I die?” Levi griped. “What about Erwin? I know your little dick gets hard for him. Don’t lie.”

Eren’s mouth dropped open and a blush coated his cheeks, much to Levi’s displeasure.

“It doesn’t! I-I don’t even like him anymore!”

“So you used to, huh? Should have known. I heard you arguing with your friend about why it wasn’t fair for him to ‘hog that hot piece of ass'.”

“How do you know I was talking about Erwin?!”

“I could just tell. And I knew Erwin had been flirting with your friend anyways.”

“His name is _Armin.”_ “

Yeah, yeah.”

Now Eren was mimicking Levi, sitting back in his seat with his arms crossed and clearly pissed off. “I don’t like him anymore.”

“And _I_ don’t like Petra anymore. In fact, I never really did. So knock it off. Doesn’t feel so good, does it brat?”

“Don’t give me a taste of my own medicine like I’m some kid!” Eren said roughly. “I just want to make sure you’re not clinging onto your past or anything before getting into a relationship with me.”

“I don’t even have a past to cling onto. Petra was a fling just like everyone else I screwed around with. Every romantic or sexual relationship I had was fleeting. They’re all insignificant and they don’t matter anymore.”

Eren shook his head, completely unconvinced. “They clearly _do_ matter. Whatever happened to you in your past is making it hard for you to deal with the present. You need closure.”

“What are you? My therapist?”

“No . . . But you’re obviously allowing some past trauma to dictate your present choices. I feel like all of your choices are controlled by things that haunt you. I feel like you end relationships with people without getting closure, and as a result of that you never heal. The only way to get better and move on is to acknowledge that you have _issues,”_ Eren said, and quickly added. “And I can tell by your face that you want to lash out at me, but that’s not the right thing to do and you know it.”

“Well, thanks for ruining the mood,” Levi said flatly. “And I wasn’t going to lash out. I wasn’t going to say anything. You’re right. Now what?”

Eren frowned, saying nothing when the waitress brought out their food. He felt like he needed to wait until Levi said something or started to eat, but Levi just sat there, staring at him with a detached look on his face and waiting for Eren’s response.

“Nothing . . .” Eren said quietly. “You know, I didn’t mean to make you feel bad . . .”

Levi didn’t respond and started eating and Eren did the same, hoping that _he_ wouldn’t be the reason they didn’t have a second date. They weren't  _already_ fighting . . . were they? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm . . . I wonder who's in the wrong . . .


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The support I'm receiving is OVERWHELMING!!! Thank you all SO much!

Eren felt like shit all day on Sunday. After he'd clearly caused Levi to shut down, not a word was spoken between them for the rest of the night until Eren apologized once before they got into the car to leave, and again immediately after Levi pulled up in his driveway to drop him off. Levi had simply shrugged in response both times and this simple act taught Eren something new about him: Levi was actually quite sensitive – especially when it came to his past, which Eren hadn’t realized was so traumatic for him. Had he known bringing it up would upset Levi so much he obviously wouldn’t have said anything. Or at least, he would have waited until Levi trusted him more to say something. Eventually they would _have_ to talk about it. Their relationship wouldn’t last if they didn’t, because no matter how hard it was for Levi, Eren wouldn’t tolerate Levi withholding such crucial information from him forever. All he wanted to do was help him, and if what Hanji had said about Levi was anything to go off of, Eren knew he needed to make Levi talk.

But perhaps . . . the first date _was_ too soon to bring it up. Well, there was no ‘perhaps’ about it. What Eren had done had been completely inappropriate, however the level of comfort he felt around Levi gave him the confidence to say what had been on his mind the entire time. Plus, the conversation had sort of just gone there. Eren wasn’t really sure where he went wrong in terms of conversational topics either. Maybe he shouldn’t have asked Levi about Petra? Ugh, but dammit – he wanted to hear from _Levi’s_ mouth that he was over her and Eren just wanted to make _sure_ he was! He had no doubt that once Petra caught wind of things she might become a ‘problem,’ because that was always how things ended up! All Eren had wanted was some confirmation that no matter how much Petra may seduce Levi, he wouldn’t go back to her!

It didn’t matter how many times people told him he was ‘cute’ or whatever: knowing Levi’s beautiful ex was still so friendly with him put him on edge! And Eren didn’t want to think badly of Petra, and he didn’t want to think that Petra would try to steal Levi away from him if they started dating, but what if she _did?_ What would Eren do? How could explain that he was better than Petra, especially when he didn’t even know what Petra did wrong to make Levi decide that she wasn’t worth his time?!

Oh no.

What if she’d done _exactly_ what Eren did last night?

What if she brought up Levi’s past too soon and Levi thought she was too much of a nosy bitch and tossed her to the curb?

This was why Eren was so concerned with knowing why Petra and Levi had broken things off. He didn’t want to make the same mistake she did. Although, whether or not he made the same mistake was irrelevant now. Levi hadn’t texted him back when Eren sent him a message when he’d woken up this morning apologizing _again._ He felt sick over the situation too. Was this how Levi had felt earlier in the week when Hanji told him that things were over between them? Because if so, then Eren was going to try his damn hardest from now on to not _ever_ let Levi walk away from him angry again - this feeling of not knowing hurt so bad.

All he wanted was some acknowledgment from Levi. He just wanted to know that Levi wasn’t going to completely ignore him because of this. If Levi texted him back at all it would be a good sign: even if Levi said he hated him and that he never wanted to see him again, Eren was sure he could make him change his mind. After all, he’d changed _his_ mind when Levi apologized to him, even though Eren was a million percent sure that he’d never give Levi another chance!

Levi couldn’t be done with him.

He just _couldn’t._

He wasn’t the type to get that hung up over a few measly words, was he? Had what Eren said wounded him _that_ badly? Sensitive or not, wasn’t this a little ridiculous?!

Now Eren was getting pissed off. After all that work of just trying to make a date happen, after a _month_ _and a half_ of running around and not knowing Levi’s true feelings, after _so long_ of Levi apparently liking him so damn much, was it really going to end over something like that?

_Really?!_

It didn’t sit right with him to let Levi go crawling back into whatever little bubble he liked to exist in so that he could ignore his issues and live within a false sense of reality. Sorry, but when people had issues, they needed to resolve them! The longer someone ran from the truth, the harder it would become to face it! And while Eren wasn’t quite ready to confront Levi with this issue again and probably wouldn’t bring it up for a while, he would _eventually._ He wasn’t going to allow Levi to run away from it. Hell, even if he and Levi didn’t work out in a romantic sense, he was still going to force Levi to deal with whatever demons he had, because if he didn’t do it, then no one would!

Glancing at the time on his phone, he realized that it was six o’clock in the afternoon. It was late, probably too late to go harassing Levi at his home, but Eren didn’t care anymore. Levi had ignored him all day and he wasn’t going to anymore!

Instead of continuing to lay around in the bed feeling sorry for himself, Eren quickly texted Hanji demanding the passcodes to enter Levi’s apartment complex, which Hanji delivered to him within seconds.

It was about to go down.

* * *

Levi sat down and popped open his Styrofoam takeout box filled with sesame chicken and fried rice. He usually didn’t treat himself like this, but he’d slept until one o’clock in the afternoon (something very unusual of him to do) due to feeling miserable (an emotion very unusual of him to feel), and once he got up he went to the gym and did some work on his laptop to make himself feel better. The Chinese food was just icing on the cake since he usually tried to eat healthy given his age. The doctor also told him about a month ago that he was _thisclose_ to needing to be on blood pressure medicine, and the thought of having to take medication everyday was enough to make him reconsider his food choices even further.

But today he deserved this.

He was just about to eat the shit out of his Chinese food too, when a loud, FBI-style knock came from the direction of his front door. Having no idea who it could be since it truly was rare for him to get visitors, especially on a Sunday, he walked over to the door and opened it expecting it to be someone with the wrong address.

“I need to talk to you,” Eren said immediately, and pushed his way into Levi’s home before the door could be shut in his face . . . _again._ “I just wanted to apologize, okay? I’m really sorry, and I’m sorry for bothering you on your day off, but I just wanted to apologize in person as soon as possible because I felt like the longer this went on without you knowing that I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, the worse you would feel.”

 _Eren’s wearing shorts today,_ Levi thought, eyes running over Eren’s legs that were exposed all the way up to mid-thigh. The boy looked so domestic in short shorts and a loose-fitted T-shirt that hung ever so slightly off his right shoulder, exposing the tan skin that wasn’t permitted to be shown in the office. His hair was more of a ruffled mess than usual and looked slightly damp as if he’d just gotten out of the shower. For Eren to shower, he had to be _naked_ right?

The thought of Eren without clothes made Levi’s heart race. Obviously, he’d imagined Eren without clothes many times already, but that was when he fully believed that he wasn’t ever going to have the chance of being with Eren anyways. But now, seeing a naked Eren could very well become his reality sooner than later. All that was keeping Eren from being completely naked right _now_ was a flimsy shirt, a pair of boxers, and a pair of shorts over those.

“Hello?” Eren asked, walking over to Levi and waving a hand in front of his eyes, unknowingly sending powerful waves of citrus and coconut into Levi’s nose.

“What?”

Eren crossed his arms now, clearly impatient with the time it was taking Levi to forgive him. He just wanted things to return to normal and to make sure Levi wasn’t ruminating and wallowing in sadness.

“Do you forgive me?”

“For what?”

“For all that stuff I said last night!”

“Oh. Yeah.”

Slightly irate at Levi’s terse response, but satisfied overall with his answer, Eren sighed and uncrossed his arms. “Okay good. So, we’re cool now right?”

“I wasn’t really that upset to be honest,” Levi admitted, suddenly remembering his Chinese food that was getting cold. “I got all moody over nothing, so don’t worry about it.”

“Well, it’s not _nothing,”_ Eren spoke calmly. “But I won’t pressure you about it. And I won’t talk about she who shall not be named anymore.”

Levi chuckled. “Good. Then I won’t talk about he who shall not be named anymore either.”

Eren smiled happily, his eyes crinkling ever so slightly at the corners and it was just about the most adorable thing Levi had ever seen.

“Well, I should get going. It’s really late after all . . .”

“I’d invite you over to stay the night but –

“Oh good, I packed an overnight bag anyway. It’s in my car.”

Levi’s eyes widened almost comically before he smirked at Eren who was cheekily backing up towards the door. “You little shit. How did you know I was going to ask you if you wanted to stay?”

“I gambled,” Eren admitted. “And it worked out in my favor, didn’t it?”

“You’re a little risk taker, Eren.”

“Aren’t all people my age?”

Once the door had shut Levi almost choked himself trying to shovel all of his Chinese food down his throat. Then he ran/slid along the hardwood floors to the bathroom to brush his teeth, and after that, he ran back into the kitchen to get the vinegar so that he could clean. Really there was no need for Levi to clean his kitchen because he never used it other than to make tea, but it had to be _perfect._ While he wanted Eren to stay overnight, he hadn’t planned for it, and his brain was furiously trying to compensate with the sudden change in plans by making sure that the house was spotless. To Eren, it probably was. But to Levi, it was a cesspool of germs and he had to disinfect it before he lost it.

When the kitchen was clean Levi practically teleported into his room, eyes darting around nervously. Everything looked to be in place, but then he realized that there was a wrinkle in the sheets near the left corner of his bed and he hastily tried to fix it but ended up making it worse in the process. Then he adjusted it again, and again, and _again,_ but it just looked like it kept getting worse! If Eren was going to grace him by sleeping in his bed tonight, Levi wanted it to look pristine for him. He  _knew_ his hand-made, hypoallergenic, all-natural, pure cotton, wool, and cashmere mattress made his bed a sanctuary to sleep in, and it would probably be the nicest thing Eren ever had and ever _would_ sleep in too. But if he couldn’t smooth out that fucking wrinkle in his Egyptian, 1200 thread count, goose feather comforter, the damn mattress didn’t matter!

“I’m back!”

SHIT!

“Levi, where are you?”

Eren walked into Levi’s room to see the man staring daggers into his bed, and Eren was about to make a joke about the behavior but something told him that he should just take Levi’s hand and lead him back into the living room. So, that’s what he did and it seemed to relax Levi enough to the point of where Eren felt like they could resume their previous conversation.

“Your house is beautiful,” Eren remarked, finally sating his curiosity by actually taking the time to view the interior of Levi’s home.

He wasn’t sure if the apartment came fully furnished or if Levi decorated it himself, but it was truly magnificent. The man seemed to prefer a minimalistic style because it wasn’t overly crowded at all. The stainless-steel kitchen gave the apartment a clean look – so clean that Eren was almost sure he smelled disinfectant . . . Currently underneath Eren’s very unworthy ass was an L-shaped, black leather sectional couch, modern and sophisticated in its design and filled with large, blindingly white fluffy pillows. A maroon blanket hung neatly over the back where the couch intersected to form the bend, and Eren had a hard time imagining Levi curling up with a blanket and watching a movie, but why else would it be there?

Underneath the couch was a giant, fluffy brown rug, and after stepping on it barefoot, Eren could confirm that it was softer than his own bed at home. But that wasn’t even anything to brag about, because it was Levi’s entertainment center that _actually_ blew Eren’s mind. He’d admittedly never seen a TV _that_ big before, and the fact that Levi didn’t use it to play Xbox or PS4 made Eren want to cry. If anything was going to happen tonight, it was going to be Eren watching that TV. It was just too intense not to.

“Thanks,” Levi breathed, relaxing since Eren seemed to be content.

“Did you decorate it?”

“Of course I did. The only thing in here when I moved in was the kitchen and the shower, sink, and toilet.”

“No way. You’re a man and men can’t decorate.”

Actually, everything Eren was seeing was part of a set. Levi had seen a picture in a catalogue of a living room set up years ago and decided that he wanted that same set up in his house. And so, he bought everything he saw in the picture.

But Eren didn’t have to know that. Levi would just happily take credit where credit was due. After all, _he’d_ picked the set.

“Let’s watch a movie!” Eren announced.

Levi rolled his eyes playfully. “Can’t focus on anything for more than a few seconds?”

“That might be true,” Eren admitted and then sheepishly added, “I kind of just want to see something playing on your TV . . . we can watch whatever you want.”

“Good. I’ve been wanting to watch _The Conjuring_ again.”

Eren groaned loudly in protest as he watched Levi cue up practically the worst movie that could have ever been chosen for him to have to watch. He would make Levi pay for this sometime in the future. Though horror movies and Eren didn’t mix, when the TV roared to life and the quality was so clear that Eren swore he could see every single pore and blemish on the actors' faces, he changed his tune pretty quickly.

 _“Maybe_ you can sit close to me if you get scared,” Levi teased.

Eren did better than that and boldly climbed onto Levi’s lap, tucking his head under his chin and trying to avoid seeing the expression on Levi’s face. He turned sideways and pulled his legs up to his chest, expecting Levi to support him by holding him in place. And Levi did, wrapping his arms around Eren and pulling him close, grateful for the fact that Eren wasn’t looking at him.

If Eren saw how nervous he was he’d never live it down.

“Your heart’s racing,” Eren chuckled.

**Fuck.**

“Tch. No it’s not,” Levi argued, though they both were aware of the truth. “Watch the movie, brat.”

Eren sighed dreamily, getting more comfortable on Levi. “I’d rather just fall asleep on you . . .”

“I don’t want your excuses. Get scared.”

“You’re so mean.”

“You’re the one that wanted to watch something on TV in the first place.”

“I said I wanted to see what something on your TV _looked_ like, Levi. There’s a difference.”

“Kids are so damn fickle. If you’re not going to watch it, shut up so that I can.”

“Kay.”

Barely thirty seconds passed before Eren was asking questions again.

“Levi, how far away are the stars?”

“. . .”

“Levi, are fish wet if they’ve never been dry before?”

“. . .”

“Levi, are you ignoring me?”

Again Eren was met with silence and he giggled to himself knowing damn well Levi had seen this movie a million times and probably had no real interest in actually watching it.

“Levi, kiss me.”

At that request, Levi’s eyes looked down into Eren’s and the older man tried not to become mesmerized by those charming complex irises swirling with color. Unable to help himself, he pressed his lips against Eren’s before the boy could change his mind. Eren happily opened his mouth and allowed Levi’s tongue to enter and dominate over his own. He leaned up so that he could get even closer, quickly changing their positions so that he was straddling Levi instead of sitting sideways in his lap. This hadn’t been Eren’s plan all along of course, but he had no time to think. Levi’s experienced tongue was leading the way and he was blindly following, trying to remember to breathe through his nose.

This wasn’t Eren’s first kiss, but it was more intense than any kiss he’d ever shared with someone. His mind was so absorbed in tasting Levi’s mouth that he couldn’t even begin to wonder if Levi could tell he was inexperienced. Briefly, Levi pulled away, probably to say something important, but Eren kissed him again, this time with more courage and dexterity. He pressed his lips firmly against the older man’s, and boldly sucked on Levi’s lower lip, earning a deep groan that sent blood rushing to his groin. Again Levi pulled away and this time Eren huffed impatiently.

“What’s wrong??” Eren asked.

“Don’t snap at me,” Levi chuckled. “I just want to know if it’s okay to touch you.”

“Duh!?”

Levi almost wanted to throw Eren down and rip off all of his clothes for being such a temperamental little brat. If he made sure of anything in this relationship, it was going to be that never pushed Eren to do something he was uncomfortable with. Although he wasn’t going to ask for permission for every little thing, he didn’t want to do anything major without Eren’s consent.

He didn’t want to lose this. He _couldn’t_ lose this.

Instead of kissing Eren’s unfairly kissable mouth, Levi moved to his neck, trying to attach his mouth to Eren’s most sensitive areas. The scent of his skin was intoxicating, and Levi ran his tongue along the expanse of Eren’s neck, latching onto his pulse point and sucking harshly on the spot. Remembering the permission he’d been given, Levi ran his hands under Eren’s shirt to feel that silky skin, thumbs ending up atop Eren’s nipples.

Finally Eren reacted, gasping at the new sensation on his chest. It was too late to feel shy, but Eren was now fully aware of Levi touching him, and his skin erupted with goosebumps. It felt good, and when a small moan escaped his lips, Eren blushed hard, wondering how Levi would react. Without saying anything Levi stripped him of his shirt and again Eren gasped quietly. Levi was staring at him way too intensely for Eren’s tastes, but Levi didn’t allow him to cover himself.

“I used to wonder all the time whether your nipples were brown or pink,” Levi admitted, staring hungrily at Eren’s chest.

“So while everyone thinks you’re in your office thinking about new ways to better the company, all you’re really doing is thinking about the color of my nipples?” Eren asked. “You know, I used to hate that they were brown.”

“Tch. Don’t you dare. They’re perfect.”

“J-just shut up and lick ‘em already. You’re embarrassing me.”

“Good.”

Levi pushed his embarrassed brat down onto the couch and climbed on top of him, drinking in Eren’s shocked expression and not taking his eyes off of his face as he latched onto one of those perky nipples, running his tongue and teeth over the pebbled flesh. Eren whimpered quietly as Levi worked his chest, trying not to seize up as Levi touched him all over. Soon his hands were on his thighs, running down his calves, over his pelvis, and then ending on his sides, gently massaging the flesh. Bravely, Eren wrapped his thighs around Levi’s hips and his arms around his neck, jumping when Levi’s erection pressed against his own.

Oh, that was right.

Levi was a man too.

Levi was a man.

 **A man**.

Eren felt himself slowly become that little whore he dreaded, allowing more moans to escape his mouth as Levi ground their hips together, slightly satiating that continuously building pressure down below. Levi had long switched to Eren’s other nipple to lavish it with attention and softly stroke and pinch the other one. The sounds Eren was making were music to his ears, and Eren was absentmindedly running the fingers from one hand through Levi’s hair, while the other was lightly raking trails up his back. Clearly the boy was enjoying himself, lying back and taking everything Levi was giving him, and the older man didn’t mind it one bit. He would happily manipulate Eren’s body all night long and enjoy those innocent touches Eren bestowed upon him in return.

But Eren wasn’t intending on playing innocent all night. He too thrusted back against Levi, moaning loudly at the delicious contact that was made and wondering why he hadn’t done this sooner. Harder and harder he thrusted against Levi, and when Levi moaned in his ear Eren felt like he was going to cum right there. Reaching down, he allowed his fingers to tease at the waistband of Levi’s pants, and he wondered out loud why Levi was still fully clothed.

“You’re sure?” Levi asked.

“Yes!” Eren hissed, pulling off Levi’s shirt and going straight for his pants afterwards. He would definitely bask in Levi’s well-built chest and toned stomach later, but right now he needed the rest of Levi’s clothes on the ground.

“Eren,” Levi said seriously, grabbing Eren’s smaller hands in his own and staring into Eren’s hazy eyes. “Are you _sure?”_

“I’m positive.”

“Once we start I won’t stop. If you don’t want to lose your virginity tonight, we need to stop here.”

After hearing that Eren finally expressed some consideration for the situation, and he drew his bottom lip in between his teeth. He took his time thinking, leaving Levi’s dick to scream in his pants, but the older man said nothing, giving Eren time to make his decision.

“Are we boyfriends?” Eren asked. “Are we even dating?”

“Not really I guess.”

“Wrong answer . . .”

“I mean yes,” Levi said, quickly correcting himself. God, his dick must have _really_ been hurting because he couldn’t even think straight at this point. “I mean, uh . . . I never asked you, but Eren, will you have me as your boyfriend?”

Eren blushed happily and nodded. “Yes. Also, one more question.”

“I’m listening.”

“Okay, so imagine this scenario right . . .”

 _This fucking kid is going to be the death of me_ , Levi thought, wondering if Eren could feel the heat that was surely emanating from his crotch.

“So, if a friend told you that he took this guy out on a date Saturday night and it ended kind of badly, but then that guy went over to your friend's house Sunday night and had sex with him, would you think that that guy was a hoe? Would you think he was easy?”

“Are you asking me if I’m going to tell people that you had sex with me tonight?” Levi asked. “Because I don’t gossip. Especially not about my sex life.”

“No, I’m just asking you what you would think,” Eren explained and then sighed. “I kind of feel bad about myself for letting a guy screw me and I haven’t even known him for that long and we just became official forty-five seconds ago . . .”

“I’m not just a guy. I’m Levi, your future husband.”

“F-future –

“And I’m not going to screw you,” Levi added, throwing all caution to the wind. He was sweating like he'd just made shoes on a hot summer day and there was no going back now. The Impulsive-Monster was talking for him again. “I’m going to make love to you, Eren . . . there’s a difference.”

Levi could tell he’d convinced Eren when he saw the look in his eyes, and while nothing he’d said was a lie, he still wanted to make sure Eren was perfectly okay with what was about to take place next.

“Eren, if you’re not ready then you don’t have to. I promise I won’t be upset.”

“No . . . I’m ready. I trust you.”

Eren squeaked in surprise as Levi lifted him up, his hands moving quickly to grasp the underneath of his thighs to support him.

This was it.

There was no backing out now.

“Good. My dick hurts so bad it might not even work anymore, so you better pray it does, brat.”

Eren said nothing as Levi carried him to his room. His heart was racing as they left the couch behind, but he was immensely excited for what was to come. He wasn’t a bad judge of character, and there must have been a reason he naturally trusted Levi so much . . . not to mention the fact that Levi had already announced that he was his future husband. The very statement didn’t promise any sort of commitment of course, but Eren didn’t think Levi was the type to say something so serious without probably intending for it to happen. Marriage was something that wasn’t going to happen for a long time, but to be told by someone he was already so infatuated with that they thought he was husband material made Eren swoon.

Eren would have to mention it at some point tonight, but . . . He was definitely in love with Levi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: Eren, how are you ALREADY in love with Levi?? Aren't you moving a little too fast here? The chase is the best part of the story! You're literally gonna give it all up ONE day after your first date??
> 
> Eren: Um, YOU got tired of waiting on us. Don't lie.
> 
> Me: . . . Yeah you're right xD


	13. Chapter 13

Levi didn’t know it was humanly possible to feel _this_ nervous and excited at the same time. Both of the reasons for feeling those two conflicting emotions were obvious, and he wasn’t sure which one was more embarrassing. It almost felt foolish to feel so giddy for something that he’d gone through the motions a hundred times for. But this time would be different because he actually loved the person he was placing gently into his bed and looking down at. The bed nearly swallowed Eren, or maybe Eren was just trying to make himself as small as possible because he was shy. Slowly and sheepishly Eren was removing his own clothes, and Levi wished it was himself taking those clothes off, but he felt like he couldn’t move. It didn’t matter how many times he swallowed that lump in his throat: it just wouldn’t go away. His palms felt sweaty and Levi hoped Eren wouldn’t notice. If Eren knew that he was nervous then _Eren_ might get nervous, and that was the last thing Levi wanted.

Never before had Levi been patient when it came to sex (or anything really). It was always quick and meaningless, and he always put his own pleasure before anyone else’s. But now he had to be mindful of his partner because not only was he in love with this person, but Eren was a virgin. If his first time with him was anything less than perfect, Levi would never live it down. A part of him wanted to rush so badly, to embarrass the hell out of Eren, to make him do things that he was probably extremely uncomfortable with. But another part of him wanted to cherish Eren, to take things slowly so that he could be eased into the process, and to make sure that Eren would go to bed without dreading the next time.

It was so hard to control himself though.

Eren had _never_ looked more innocent before him, sitting meekly with his knees drawn up to his chest and staring up at Levi as if awaiting further instruction. His eyes were wide and curious, but full of complete trust. There wasn’t an ounce of himself that Eren wasn’t prepared to give Levi, and it made Levi want to ravage him like a wild animal.

“Don’t hide yourself,” Levi said lowly, although the tone of his voice made it sound like a threat. “I want to see all of you.”

Eren looked away for a moment before making eye contact with Levi once more. “Okay, but don’t stare.”

“I’m not staring.”

But Levi _was_ staring. He was staring so hard he could burn holes through Eren’s body. That lovely unblemished tan skin was practically glowing under the dimmed room light. Levi was busy memorizing every contour and curve along Eren’s body, and unbeknownst to him Eren was doing just the same.

Poor Eren was feeling more and more inferior the longer he gazed at Levi’s upper body. The man clearly worked out and ate fairly healthily. His eyes focused heavily on Levi’s pecs that created the bulk of his chest, and he slowly allowed his gaze to travel downwards along an impressive six pack, and down even further to follow the well tamed happy trail underneath Levi’s belly button. Never had Eren been so turned on by some _hair_ but he was beginning to feel himself hyperventilate. If he didn’t feel that against him in about two seconds he was going to lose it.

“Why do you still have your pants on?” Eren breathed. “Take them off.”

As if under a trance Levi did as he was told, stripping off his pants and trying to remain calm as Eren gawked at him.

“Like what you see?”

Eren swallowed and nodded. “Can I . . . um, give you a blowjob?”

Levi shook his head. “Nah. It’s all about you tonight.”

Before Eren could protest Levi’s lips were on his again, and the gentleness of Levi’s touches and caresses let him know that he need not be deterred from asking in the future. This was just Levi’s way of showing him that he cared, and Eren was more than happy to comply. Levi wasted no time in wrapping his fingers around both his and Eren’s lengths, stroking them both together in a steady rhythm to relieve some of the pressure. Jolts of electricity shot through Eren’s body almost instantly, and he whined into Levi’s mouth, mostly in pleasure, but a part of him was upset at why this had never felt so good with his own hand.

Levi swallowed those sounds up eagerly, squeezing harder and pumping faster, learning Eren’s body with every passing second. Eren’s hands were resting against his cheeks, thumbs softly stroking the thin skin underneath his eyes. Levi could feel Eren’s eyelashes bumping against his own and the sweat from their foreheads had practically glued them together. He couldn’t even feel disgusted from it: Eren’s body fluids to him were just as precious and important to him as Eren himself was. He wanted _everything_ to do with every part of Eren.

He greedily shoved his tongue as far down Eren’s throat as he could.

He pressed his mouth harder against the boy’s, feeling their teeth bang together uncomfortably.

And the treatment didn’t seem to bother Eren. The brunette kissed back equally as hard, suddenly understanding how easy it was to fall victim to the depraved world of sex and intimacy. It was no wonder so many girls in high school and college end up pregnant: if Eren had known intimacy could be this good, he probably would have ended up pregnant years ago had he been a girl.

The sound of a bottle cap opening quickly caught his attention, and he disconnected from Levi’s mouth to briefly examine what he was doing. He should have been nervous – after all, he _had_ been throughout most of this. But now he only felt overwhelming trust and love and desire for Levi. He felt no fear.

“Levi –

“Eren, I love you.”

Eren’s eyes widened as he took in the confession. Had Levi just told him that to reassure him? Did Levi fear that he was going to back out on him?

“Really?” Eren asked quietly. “You’re not just telling me that because you’re afraid I’ll quit on you, right?”

Levi scoffed, narrowing his eyes at the accusation. “No. I told you that because it’s important for you to know. I’ve . . . never done this with someone that I was in love with.”

“You’re going to make me cry . . .”

“Gross.”

Eren laughed and kissed Levi again, pulling back just enough so that he could speak against Levi’s mouth. “I love you too.”

They kissed again and Eren relaxed as Levi’s fingers drifted down towards a region no one other than himself had explored and briefly touched against his opening. The light sensation was driving Eren wild, but he didn’t dare rush Levi. His heart was beginning to race again with excitement as those strong fingers added pressure, smoothing along his crack, and Eren had never felt so dirty and aroused. His thighs were already quivering in anticipation around Levi’s hips and he hoped Levi wasn’t slowly growing more and more apathetic with his obvious inexperience. It must be annoying to have a lover who squirmed over every little thing.

Little did Eren know, Levi could never be annoyed with Eren’s little knowledge of intimacy. His reactions were absolutely precious, better than anything Levi could have ever expected. Even lightly circling his fingers around Eren’s opening had the boy shaking beneath him, and he briefly reminded Eren to breath as he struggled to push his middle finger into him, marveling at the resistance he met even with the lube. It wouldn’t do for Eren to be in pain, but _God_ he was tight and Levi was practically salivating at what it was going to feel like to finally ram his dick into Eren. And after what felt like forever, Levi finally felt that little spot within him that Eren had no idea would cause him so much pleasure. Lightly, he rubbed it, watching as Eren’s previously closed tightly eyes shot open in confusion.

“It’s okay,” Levi chuckled, feeling Eren’s grip on his biceps tighten. “Just relax.”

Eren relaxed as told and breathed out as Levi slowly slid his finger out before sliding it back in. The sensation was weird and made him shiver, but it wasn’t painful. Levi was being extremely careful with him and Eren couldn’t be more grateful he had a lover that was so patient. Eventually Levi added a second finger and the stretch became more uncomfortable, but it still wasn’t painful. Every time Levi pushed his fingers as far as they’d go inside of him to press against that spot, Eren saw stars. His mouth dropped open as the pleasure shot through him, forcing him to vocalize against his will. Levi rubbed against the spot harshly, almost evil in his ministrations, and Eren thrashed on the bed, choking on the sounds that came out of his mouth.

“L-Levi!” Eren gasped, chest heaving at the sensation. “G-gh s-stop! P-please! Ahhh, it feels so good! D-don’t stop! _Please_ don’t stop!”

Eren could briefly hear Levi chuckle and then all of a sudden, he felt Levi’s warm breath on the tip of his erection and then hot, wet, heat everywhere. Instantly Eren’s thighs clamped around Levi’s head and his back arched wildly and painfully. The pleasure was overwhelming and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. By now he was definitely moaning like a slut, calling Levi’s name so loud everyone on the floor was sure to hear him. The pressure Eren felt building in the pit of his stomach was indescribable, and the double stimulation was quickly sending him over the edge. He arched upwards once more, eyes wide and unseeing, and a garbled form of Levi’s name left his mouth once more as he came, falling back against the bed and trembling violently. Eren felt dizzy enough to pass out, and his eyes fluttered shut as he tried to focus on slowing his breathing. Levi was peppering kisses against the inside of his weak thighs as if trying to sooth him further, and Eren could honestly say it was helping him calm down.

What just happened had been so intense that it was almost scary. Never had Eren felt so out of control when it came to his own body. He probably looked like a victim of demonic possession going through an exorcism with how violently he’d been thrashing on the bed and screaming Levi’s name at the top of his lungs. Eren couldn’t bother with it right now, but he knew that in the morning he was going to feel so ashamed of his behavior.

Levi’s mouth was on his again and he kissed back weakly, now having to breathe harshly through his nose instead of his mouth. His chest was still heaving and Levi lightly pressed his hand against him, further trying to shush him.

“Shh,” Levi mumbled against Eren’s lips. “Just breathe.”

“I _am_ breathing, you dick,” Eren panted. “If I wasn’t breathing I’d be dead.”

“So you’ve recovered,” Levi observed. “And pretty quickly too for someone whose soul momentarily left their body.”

“One day I’ll make _your_ soul leave your body,” Eren shot back, nibbling on Levi’s lips in the process. “Just you wait.”

Levi didn’t let Eren know that that day was definitely going to be today and it was going to happen mere moments from now. However, he would quip back at Eren’s little threat. He couldn’t have him feeling too cocky yet.

“You know, you looked really hot thrashing around like that,” Levi breathed hotly into Eren’s ear. “I almost came just listening to you.”

Eren shivered at the words, hiding his face in Levi’s neck so that he wouldn’t see his face. “What a pervert . . .”

“Can you blame me?”

Truly, Eren was happy that he was able to have such an effect on Levi, but how could he not feel self-conscious about it? He was showing Levi such a shameful side of himself, and tomorrow they were supposed to go into work and resume their professional relationship. Life would be going back to normal tomorrow, but the memories wouldn’t be going anywhere. In fact, they’d probably remain on his mind for months on end and he would have to face Levi and act like he hadn’t cum down his throat shouting his name.

Once Levi was sure Eren had calmed down, he reached over to his nightstand and opened up the top drawer. Again he could feel Eren staring at him as he pulled out a condom, and he could practically see Eren’s eyes double in size.

“Why are you using a condom?” Eren asked, his voice full of confusion. “I can’t get pregnant or anything.”

“It’s to prevent a mess,” Levi explained.

Eren was quiet for a moment before mumbling, “You don’t have to use it . . .”

“Eren –

“Don’t you want to do it _in_ me . . .?” Eren asked, now completely red in the face. “Because . . . I want you to . . .”

Eren’s innocent line of questioning made Levi think of the one thing he’d avoided contemplating this entire time and that was Eren’s age. Levi knew that if he allowed the thought to creep into his mind he’d feel bad, and he was right. As reality dawned upon him that Eren was only nineteen years old, Levi began to hesitate. At nineteen Eren was legally an adult, but he was still extremely young, probably too young to be doing this with someone fifteen years his senior. Though he had Eren’s consent it still felt wrong and even if Levi provided Eren with a future at his side forever by marrying him, it wouldn’t make what was about to transpire right. He was a pervert for doing this with someone so young and getting aroused over taking Eren’s innocence away from him. Getting to take something that no one else on the planet would ever be able to have made Levi feel all sorts of powerful. He’d already hit the jackpot procuring the affections of someone so young and beautiful, and getting to take their virginity was the icing on top of the cake.

Levi didn’t deserve this, yet he _did_ at the same time. He could provide Eren with whatever he wanted and more. No matter where Eren looked, he couldn’t find anyone better than him. There were so many material things to gain by dating him, and Eren had so much to lose by choosing someone else.

But really, Levi wondered what good his money was if he was poor in his heart? To feel so damn smug over getting someone as pure and innocent as Eren to give up a future with someone closer in age and values _did_ demonstrate poverty. It demonstrated poverty of character and personality. Maybe Levi was just being too hard on himself, but if anything, it showed that he cared about Eren. He loved Eren enough to contemplate letting him go so that he could be with someone else that could possibly make him happier, but did he love him enough to _actually_ let him go?

“Levi,” Eren said, finally speaking up when he could see some semblance of hesitation in Levi’s gaze. “I  _really_ love you.”

Levi felt his heart swell. How anyone could truly love him that much was beyond him. But Eren wouldn’t lie to him, right? Before Levi had a chance to repeat the phrase back to him, Eren pulled him down and kissed his forehead gently. The kiss wasn’t supposed to be sexual in nature at all: instead, it was meant to be comforting and reassuring. It was meant to convey the message ‘I’m not going anywhere and neither should you’. Levi got the message loud and clear: he wouldn’t hesitate any longer.

Situating himself properly between Eren’s legs, he pressed his own lips gently against Eren’s jaw, hoping and praying that Eren was relaxed enough so that he wouldn’t feel too much pain. It would have been easier on Eren for him to do this on his knees for the first time, but Levi couldn’t bear not to look at him, couldn’t bear not to have Eren’s arms wrapped so tightly around his neck and his legs so tightly around his hips as if he was going to vanish. Kissing along Eren’s jaw, Levi tried to keep his heart from shattering into a million pieces at that small whimper in his ear when he pressed the tip of his straining erection against Eren’s opening.

“Sorry,” Levi apologized quietly as he pushed into the warm opening, trying not to take pleasure in the tightness as Eren seized up painfully around him. His nails were digging into his back as Levi continued to push into him swiftly, and by the time he was fully in Eren was shaking in pain, tears gathered in the corner of his eyes. However, little did Levi know that Eren wasn’t shaking in pain, but rather was vibrating with happiness at finally having Levi within him.

Of course, even with lube it felt like he’d just been ripped in half, and Eren knew it was impossible not to feel pain due to Levi’s size, but he didn’t care. He was just happy to be one with the person he loved and he hoped – no, he _knew_ Levi felt the same.

“You can move,” Eren whispered, more than aware of Levi’s eager panting in his ear.

This would be the ultimate test of patience for Levi as he regretfully pulled himself out of that beautifully tight heat. He slowly pushed himself back in, reminding himself that Eren had been crying a few seconds ago. Levi kept the pace slow and focused, and his hips moved fluidly and deliberately so as to loosen Eren up as carefully as possible. He wouldn’t lie and say he wasn’t dying to fuck the shit out of Eren like a horny fourteen-year old boy, however at thirty-five years old he could exhibit some damn self-restraint. Eren wasn’t going anywhere and neither was he, so he could take his time and cherish Eren like he deserved.

“Y-you can go a little faster,” Eren shyly added after a while. “I’m not gonna break.”

Levi hoped Eren couldn’t feel the millions of goosebumps that erupted across his skin at the command. Doing as told, Levi picked up the pace, eyes snapping shut in pleasure. He wouldn’t slam into Eren as hard as he could, but the steady pace now was enough to set his loins ablaze and he dropped his forehead against Eren’s. Never had sex felt this warm and inviting, both physically and figuratively, and Levi wondered if this was the difference between having sex to make himself feel good and having sex to make both parties feel good. Levi was so conscious of every little thing Eren did, every drag of his fingertips against his back, every pant, every moan, every little whisper of encouragement in his ear. All aspects of intimacy had become important to him, and he felt more involved than ever before.

Levi leaned back and focused on Eren’s face, studying his expressions to make sure he was no longer in pain. He cared about Eren’s pleasure more than his own, and that was saying something major, because Levi had never been able to derive any pleasure at the thought of someone else being in pleasure. Knowing that he was making Eren feel good was enough to bring the beginnings of what was sure to be a powerful orgasm rushing to the surface at an embarrassingly fast pace. Sweat was beading on his forehead and he was losing his composure, moaning abashedly in Eren’s ear. He _never_ made noise, but it looked like Levi was experiencing just as many firsts as Eren was.

“L-Levi,” Eren moaned back, dragging his nails over Levi’s muscled back. “F-faster. _Faster_ . . .”

The faster Levi snapped his hips against his, the higher Eren’s voice ascended, and Eren continued to marvel over what he was becoming. Those sounds emanating from both his mouth and his ass should be illegal, but Eren couldn’t help but beg for more, wondering how Levi was able to hit his prostate dead on with every single thrust. His toes curled in pleasure and Eren gasped as Levi lavished and bit and sucked on his chest frantically, bringing Eren to new heights of ecstasy with each passing second. Eren was practically sobbing at this point, moaning loudly and deliriously. He cried out helplessly when Levi grabbed ahold of his leaking cock once more, stroking him in rhythm with those powerful thrusts and Eren knew he wouldn’t last much longer. A mixture of “please” and “Levi” was flowing out of his mouth, though Eren wasn’t sure what he was asking for. At the same time he was losing his mind, Eren wanted to let Levi know that those manly grunts of exertion in his ear just weren’t fair. He was sent over the edge in the next second, startled by his orgasm and crying out weakly yet clutching so hard to Levi with his last bit of strength.

“Fuck!” Eren whined, because at this point he was immersed in pleasure so intense that it was starting to become painful.

Levi pressed his lips against Eren's to swallow the string of curses that were leaving his mouth, groaning loudly as he buried himself to the hilt and emptied himself inside of Eren. Eren’s insides were still deliciously clenching around him and those tan thighs were again quivering against his hips as Eren struggled to come down from his high. Levi too was just as sensitive as Eren was, because once that dam had finally burst and after what felt like hours of blue balls had finally ended so abruptly, well, his soul indeed _had_ indeed left is body.

Instead of collapsing on Eren and suffocating him to death, Levi used the last ounce of strength in his arms to fall to Eren’s left and bring his lover with him to rest on top of him. They continued to lazily kiss, hearts hammering hard against one another’s. Many minutes passed before either of them recovered or felt like doing anything other than basking in the afterglow of what had just transpired. It was finally Levi who broke the silence, disconnecting from Eren’s lips to stare into those wide, glassy, post-sex eyes of Eren’s.

“I _really_ love you too, Eren.”

Eren blushed prettily, however due to how hot his face felt he couldn’t tell that he was blushing at all. He didn’t say anything and instead snuggled further into Levi’s body, although the sudden movements made him gasp lightly due to feeling so sensitive _down_ there . . . although truthfully, he felt sensitive all over. Not to mention the fact that Levi hadn’t bothered to pull out. He wasn’t sure how Levi got the hint, but he eventually did, and mindfully pulled slowly out of Eren so as to not agitate him further. Levi didn’t even mind that he could feel his own hot semen dripping out of Eren’s ass and onto his upper thigh. Nor did he mind that Eren’s semen was currently sticking both of their abdomens together like glue. He didn’t mind that they were going to wake up a sweaty, sticky mess tomorrow morning either. Perhaps his soul hadn’t yet returned to his body because Levi couldn’t remember a time in his life that he felt this unbothered.

By now Eren had fallen asleep on top of him, breathing nearly soundlessly. He usually preferred having a cigarette after sex to help him fall asleep, but from now on, the coconutty remnants coming from Eren’s shampooed hair would suit him just fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope there are no grammatical errors or anything - reading over my own smut makes me CRINGE HARD so I just lightly skimmed it lol


	14. Chapter 14

When Eren awoke the next day to the sound of an unfamiliar alarm, he genuinely wondered where he was. But upon realizing that he was on top of a body that was beginning to stir beneath him, the memories of last night flooded his stream of consciousness all at once and Eren immediately buried his face back into Levi’s neck where it had previously been. He didn’t want to wake up. He wanted to sleep forever, because the thought of facing Levi after _that_ nearly killed him. Perhaps this was all a dream and it wasn’t time to wake up and face reality yet?

Suddenly Levi swatted his ass hard enough to make Eren shoot up so fast a wave of dizziness threatened to take him back down.

“Don’t wanna get up yet, brat?” Levi asked casually, but to Eren the question hadn’t sounded casual at all. It was spoken lowly and huskily, still filled with that recently woken up roughness that sent shivers down Eren’s body. He stared at Levi blankly, patiently waiting for him to say something else and send more tingles up and down his spine.

“Did I break you last night?” Levi joked, wondering if Eren was going to respond to him in his usual bratty manner.

 _Last night_ , Eren thought, and oh no, here came those memories again. The memories of Levi’s hands and mouth all over his body, of those biceps bulging as Levi held himself above Eren, of those hips thrusting desperately into his body, thoroughly using him to seek relief, and then violently cumming into him and filling him up with that unbearably hot essence that was nothing but _Levi._

“I don’t know what you have on that dirty mind of yours,” Levi spoke again, unknowingly igniting a passionate fire within Eren just with the sound of his voice. “But keep looking at me with those eyes and neither of us will get to work.”

“Work?” Eren asked sleepily, innocently cocking his head to the side.

“Work,” Levi confirmed, although the more he looked at Eren the more he considered just ditching.

Eren continued to stare at Levi until it all finally dawned on him. He’d momentarily been in a trance due to Levi’s voice, but now he was back and reality was sinking in. He and Levi had to go to work. They had to return to their regular lives. Somehow Eren had to walk around the office pretending as though he hadn’t had sex with one of the co-CEO’s of the company.

He hurriedly moved off of Levi and allowed the man to swing his legs over the side of the bed and turn off the alarm clock. Luckily Eren managed to unglue his eyes from Levi’s ass by the time Levi turned around to face him, seemingly unashamed of his nudity.

“Can you stand?”

“Stand?” Eren repeated and tried to mimic Levi.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed without a problem, but as soon as he tried to stand on his still shaky limbs, a pain shot through his lower back that brought him right back down onto the bed. Wondering what was wrong with him, he stared at Levi in concern.

“I figured as much,” Levi chuckled, and left Eren to head into the kitchen. “I’ll get you some painkillers. Take it easy today.”

Eren watched Levi go, positioning himself back into the middle of the bed. To cover himself, Eren ripped the sheet from the bottom of the bed up to his shoulders and situated himself against the pillows behind him. He then took the opportunity to look around at Levi’s room and get a good idea of where the man went to bed every night. There was an absolutely huge window on his right which Eren assumed looked out over the complex, but he couldn’t see anything due to the white, wooden blinds that were currently shut to block out light. There weren’t any curtains hung up, but Eren liked the look of just the blinds because it gave the room a less cluttered feel. Directly in front of him was a large flat screen TV mounted to the wall, and he had a feeling that it never got watched because the remotes were neatly placed on the immaculate six-drawer glass dresser beneath it. To the left of that was the door Levi left through, and the left wall contained two more doors, one of which Eren figured was a bathroom and the other which was mostly likely a closet.

There were two glass nightstands with matching lamps that sat on either side of the bed, and the bed itself sat atop a white, fluffy rug. The walls were painted a pleasant light gray color which went well with the white trim and dark oak wood floors, and other than that, Levi’s room was bare. It almost felt too big for what was currently in it, but Eren supposed that Levi only used the room to sleep and that he didn’t need much else in it.

When Levi came back and saw Eren nestled up in the middle of the bed like a scared animal, he again contemplated missing work to stay home with him. However it was a Monday, and Mondays were one of the most crucial days of the week no matter how painful they were to work through.

He handed Eren a glass of water and the painkillers and decided to also give him the remotes to the TV since he was sure Eren was going to be in the bed for a majority of the day.

“I don’t have any food,” Levi announced awkwardly, handing Eren his phone. “You can use the apartment complex’s app to order some food from the café. It should be here by the time I’m done taking a shower.”

Finally Eren stopped looking like a confused animal and responded to Levi’s statement. “Levi! You don’t have any food?? How do you survive?”

Levi shrugged. “I drink tea and when I’m hungry I go out and get food.”

Eren’s mouth dropped open in shock before frowning. “That’s not healthy or financially wise.”

“Tch, you’re about ten years too early to tell me how to handle my money.”

“Well . . . I suppose I’ll wait until you ask me to move in before I worry about stuff like that,” Eren said coolly, diffusing anything that could have become a potential argument.

He wasn’t feeling nervous anymore, especially since Levi didn’t seem to be treating him any differently.

Levi shot Eren an endearing look before walking into the bathroom. “Won’t be long until you’re trapped here with me, brat. Now watch some TV or shit while I get ready.”

By now Eren had learned to tell by the tone of Levi’s voice whether or not he was upset or annoyed at him, and he knew that right now Levi was being nothing but playful. Eren was also fairly surprised, because he was _sure_ that when he woke up this morning that he wasn't even going to be able to properly communicate with Levi. However, he wasn’t feeling as awkward as he thought he’d feel. Perhaps Levi had just forgotten about how embarrassing he’d been last night and all of the weird facial expressions he most definitely had made? Or maybe Levi just hadn’t paid much attention? Either way, Eren knew that Levi enjoyed himself last night and so did he. And in the end that was all that truly mattered.

Doing as he was told, Eren turned on the TV and began to search through the channels for something to watch. This would literally be the perfect setup to play his PS4 because the TV was large enough and clear enough to get a good visual from the comfiest spot in any house - and Levi’s bed _was_ really comfy. Eren hadn’t really slept on it last night since he was sleeping on Levi’s body instead, but now that he was lying in it he realized how heavenly it felt against him. It was soft enough to conform to his body, but firm enough to still support him sitting up. The pillows behind him reminded him of the fanciest hotel pillows one could sleep on, and they were a major difference compared to his flat-as-a-pancake pillows at home.

He also took Levi’s advice and ordered breakfast on the app, amazed that an apartment complex served food to its patrons. This place really _was_ like a hotel, and Eren was worried that if he didn’t get out of here soon he’d end up spoiled. Actually, he probably already was. Here he was, lying in a bed that was big enough to comfortably support five people, watching a movie on a TV that was twice the size of the TV his parents had in their living room at home, waiting patiently on breakfast that Levi was going to allow him to eat in bed. He felt like royalty . . .

Eventually Levi stepped out of the bathroom and immediately the smell of fresh pine and cologne hit Eren’s nose. He watched curiously as Levi then literally _disappeared_ into the closet, but then Eren realized that it was probably as big as his room at home. His eyes landed on his overnight bag and he figured that it was time to suck up the pain and go clean himself up, so he hobbled out of the bed and headed for the shower. Just like everything else in the apartment, the bathroom was immaculate. It was so white it nearly blinded him, and his eyes couldn’t figure out which to focus on first: the giant, Jacuzzi like tub or the equally as big glass shower. He felt both nervousness and arousal at the idea of the shower being completely surrounded by glass, see through, with no barrier to hide his body. Levi could just walk on in and see him _naked_ if he wanted! Well, actually, hadn’t he already seen him naked? Ugh . . .

Eren decided to go with the tub since he didn’t really feel like standing, and after feeling like he was attempting to solve a Rubik’s cube, Eren finally got it to dispense hot water and he eagerly got in to bathe himself. He was glad he’d brought with him his own soap, shampoo, and conditioner, because while Levi smelled good, Eren would rather Levi’s scent remain strictly on Levi’s body only. After allowing himself to soak in the hot water for just a little while longer, Eren finished his routine and got out, still frustrated over the fact that the pain in his back hadn’t dissipated. Would this happen every time they had sex?? And why hadn’t Levi told him this was going to happen? If Eren had known he would be out of commission for a day, he would have waited until Friday night to do this!

While he obviously did _not_ regret having sex with Levi last night, he hadn’t known his back was going to ache like this. Even standing at the counter to brush his teeth was agonizing.

After toweling off and getting dressed in the spare set of comfy clothes he’d brought (not his work clothes because there was no way he would survive sitting at a desk/walking around all day) he rejoined Levi in the room to see that the sheets had been changed. Eren desperately wanted to get back into that bed and mess it all up again but looked so nice and neat and strangely perfect. Not a crease could be seen in the bedding – the fanciest and most expensive hotel couldn't make a bed look _this_ good.

“You can get back in,” Levi said from behind him, butting his shirt cuffs as he walked out of the closet.

“You’re sure?” Eren asked. “I can just wait at the table for breakfast.”

“Get in the bed,” Levi ordered, shoving Eren towards it. “You can eat breakfast there.”

“A-are you _sure_??” Eren asked again. He _needed_ to know that he was hearing Levi right. It wasn’t a secret that Levi was a clean freak, and Eren had assumed so after looking around at just how neat and orderly Levi’s apartment was. It was one thing for someone to keep a clean house, but it was another thing to keep a _sterilized_ house. 

“Just let me do this for you,” Levi grunted, swiftly exiting the room to answer the door.

Eren obediently climbed into the bed and waited patiently, trying not to smile like an idiot. The fresh smelling silk sheets felt cool on his bare legs and he felt comfortable enough to stretch out on his stomach as he waited for Levi to bring him his food. Eventually Levi did come back, hurrying slightly, and Eren saw that it was nearing seven-fifteen. He didn’t have to be at work until eight-thirty, but he supposed that as a boss Levi had to be there much earlier.

“Will you come back early?” Eren asked, eyeing the tray of food Levi sat down for him.

“Early? For what?”

“Because I’ll need to be back home by no later than six,” Eren explained, suspiciously pushing the grits around in the little bowl they were served in. “My parents think I spent the night at Armin’s and went to work with him today.”

Levi chuckled at the ease with which Eren used to explain how he snuck out. “I’m a bad influence, aren’t I? Also, what happens if I come home early?”

“You’ll have come home early and find out, now won’t you?”

At Levi’s skeptical look, Eren added, “I promise I’ll make it worth it.”

“Oh I’m sure you will.”

Eren wordlessly sat up and held his arms out, pleased when Levi responded immediately and walked over to him. They exchanged a quick peck on the lips and Eren smiled brightly before sending Levi off. Once he heard the front door close and he knew Levi was gone, he tasted the suspicious looking grits and groaned: they needed salt . . . and salt was probably in the kitchen . . . meaning he had to get up . . .

* * *

Hange never thought they’d see the day that Levi ran into a glass door. That unmistakable **boom** was enough to nearly make them drop their coffee, and upon seeing that it was _Levi_ recovering from almost knocking himself unconscious, well, how could they _not_ erupt in laughter over it?

“Grumpy?!” Hange laughed, nearly knocked to the floor themselves by a frantic Petra rushing to Levi’s side. “Are you okay??”

“Never better.”

Hange also never thought they’d hear the words “never better” leave Levi’s mouth. Usually when asked if he was okay, the response involved Levi repeating the question, but with a condescending tone, implying that the asker had something wrong with them.

“You should be mindful of where you’re going . . .” Petra suggested lightly, walking alongside Levi as they entered the building.

“Levi, I’ve _never_ seen you walk into a door!” Hange teased, also taking a place beside Levi as the man headed up to his office.

Levi responded smoothly to the observation. “There’s a first time for everything, Hange.”

“Did you just call me by my name?!” Hange squealed, grabbing Levi’s arm in shock. “Who are you and what have you done with the _real_ Levi?! Whoever you are, you’re an imposter!”

“I really haven’t ever seen you in this good of a mood,” Petra said, inserting herself into the conversation. “Did something good happen last night?”

“Oh! Erwin!” Hange yelled, noticing the blond man exit one of the rooms, arms full of papers and folders. “Come and say hello to the new Levi!”

“New Levi?” Erwin laughed, but grew completely serious when Levi glanced at him.

“Morning,” Levi said fluidly, still casually making his way to his office.

Within seconds Erwin was also following the group, trying to figure out what was different about his co-CEO.

“Looks like Levi, sounds like Levi, smells like Levi,” Erwin observed, eyes wide and confused. “Is this some sort of joke? It’s nowhere near April . . . Levi, explain yourself!”

Levi shrugged. “Can’t a man just be happy to be alive?”

All three of the employees following behind Levi stopped in their tracks, staring at Levi’s retreating form in awe. Levi used this opportunity to quickly escape them and make his way into his office, slamming the door behind him and rolling his eyes. How dare people treat him as though he’s some sort of imposter just because he was being nice! If they didn’t want him to be nice then that was fine, but dammit, couldn’t he be in a good mood for _once?_

While the reason he was in a good mood was obvious to _him,_ no one else was aware of it, and Levi was keen on keeping it that way for many reasons. First of all, it was no secret that office romances never worked out. Luckily Eren wasn’t a permanent employee and would be leaving soon, because Levi would be damned if he allowed any ‘drama’ to start. People loved to talk and gossip, and it _always_ ended up badly. He had watched it go down around him so many times. Every other month he knew Hange dealt with the effects of an office relationship souring. Both parties always ended up hurt, people around them always got involved, work ended up not getting done, and half of the time someone had to be fired.

Sorry, but he didn’t want to chance a bad ending with Eren. Thankfully if it _did_ turn out that way, Eren could just cut ties with him and the company and be on his way. It’d make Levi sick to watch him go, but he would do just about anything he could to keep Eren from having to suffer through being gossiped about. Levi didn’t much care or worry about himself being gossiped about though. Let those bastards that worked here talk some shit about him – they could kiss those 401K plans, employee benefits, and paid vacations goodbye!

Secondly, while Levi definitely wasn’t ashamed to be dating Eren, no one he worked with really needed to know about it. Levi had always kept his personal life under wraps (although by now he was pretty sure everyone in the office was aware that something had happened between him and Petra years ago). It wouldn’t do for people to know what their boss did in his free time, who he dated, what he spent his money on, etc. Even though nothing bad had happened yet between Erwin and Armin, Levi was still bewildered at the fact that Erwin called a meeting and openly announced it to everyone. His reasoning for doing so had something to do with just wanting to ‘let everyone know’ but Levi felt like it had more to do with the fact that Erwin got chased left and right by both women _and_ men in the office. Letting people know that he was taken was a step in the right direction to stop that sort of thing, though thankfully Levi didn’t have that problem. He’d always been grateful of the fact that he was unapproachable to most, and he’d never been so grateful for it right now. Thus, he decided that he wouldn’t tell anyone. Besides, work was a professional environment and there was no need for relationships to be on anybody’s mind. Everyone who worked here needed to come in with nothing but work on their mind. His employees had the  _whole_ weekend to frolic and dabble in romance.

At work, people work.

No exceptions.

Except for himself of course, because Levi could think about both work _and_ Eren at the same time. Even now he was analyzing the coefficient of determination for a particular set of data he was interested in looking at in order to determine whether or not gender and race were statistically significant predictors of the sale and consumption of a certain type of beer he was considering selling at their potential Hong Kong subsidiary: 87.3% variability, huh? And a p-value of 2%? The model was statistically significant, and he’d make a note of this while allowing his mind to return to Eren.

Thirdly, he didn’t want people to know about this because Eren was _his._ He didn’t even want people to _think_ about Eren. The more people that thought about him and noticed him, the more those people would realize how adorable he was and try to steal him away. Eren could currently have suitors chasing him left and right and Levi would have no idea, but he would make damn sure that none of those suitors resided in the office with him. Eren was so approachable and easy to talk to (especially for a normal person who didn’t have issues like Levi) and Eren was very receptive and warm – he just didn’t have it in him to tell someone to piss off. That personality trait worried Levi a lot, which was why he remained locked in a constant battle with the ‘Lock-Eren-Away-At-Home-So-No-One-Can-See-Him’ demon. In the end, reason and logic always won, but Levi couldn’t stop contemplating how easy it would be to keep predators away from Eren if he could do so. The longer Eren stayed with him the less Levi would worry over time, but for now, it hurt to know that he couldn’t watch Eren’s back for him 24/7. Levi felt himself to be the _good_ type of possessive boyfriend. He was concerned for Eren’s safety; however, he would let Eren take care of himself . . . and come in when Eren wasn’t around to clean up the filth that threatened to take him away!

“Dr. Ack –

At the sound of Jean’s voice Levi reached into the drawer on his right and pulled out a crisp manila folder he’d put together for Jean last Friday. It had everything in it he needed to work on for today including minimal instructions on how to go about it, and with eyes still focused on his computer, Levi held it out for Jean to take.

Jean happily snatched the folder away and began his journey to another office with a computer to work.

“Oh, hello Hanji –

“LEVI!” Hange screamed, busting into Levi’s office and nearly knocking Jean down in the process. “I need to talk to you!”

“Out.”

“Aww, looks like that good mood of yours was just a passing façade, huh?”

 _No, I’m just better received this way,_ Levi thought sourly and waited with an annoyed expression for Hange to continue.

“Anyways . . .” Hange drawled, their tone suddenly becoming one full of mischief. “I _know_ . . .”

“You know something?” Levi asked, feigning shock. “How does it feel to understand something for the first time?”

“Oh ho ho Levi. I wouldn’t pick on me if I were you . . . in fact, Eren mentioned something about him wanting you to grovel at my feet if I successfully got you together. Which I did. Yes. _Me._ ”

Levi scoffed, narrowing his eyes further. There was no use in denying it now. He’d known that Hange had had their time and energy invested in this for a while now.

“Do you want bragging rights? A fucking thank you?”

“Not particularly,” Hange explained. “At least, not yet. The hard part will be keeping the enemies away so that you two can remain together. Eventually I’ll let you take the reigns Levi, but your relationship is still in its critical stage.”

“This is coming from someone who has had two long term relationships.”

“That’s two more than you, Grumpy! And I used to study humans in college. I know what I’m talking about!”

Levi rolled his eyes. “I don’t need you to help me keep any enemies away. I’m fine on my own. No one is going to bother Eren in this office.”

It wasn’t really Eren that Hange was concerned about and after debating heavily about whether or not to let Levi in on their thoughts, they decided against it. If anything it would just serve to piss Levi off . . . so Hange would attempt to deal with it on their own.

“Speaking of Eren,” Hange chuckled mischievously. “I texted him and asked him where he was and he was shocked because he figured that you’d let me know.”

“He’s at my apartment.”

“I know that _now._ Any particular reason why?”

At this point Levi was staring at Hange with absolutely no expression on his face. Hange was playing a game with him and he really wasn’t interested in it. After all, he promised Eren that he’d leave early so he needed to get as much work done as possible.

“I’m assuming he told you why.”

“Aww Levi!” Hange squealed, jumping up and down where they stood. “I’m so proud of you!!”

“For what? That wasn’t my first rodeo, dumbass.”

“You know that’s not what I’m talking about! I just never thought you’d weasel your way into him this early.”

“I didn’t ‘weasel’ my way into him,” Levi growled. “Don’t get it twisted: I love that little shithead.”

Hange wanted to faint at Levi’s confession. Even though he called Eren a shithead, knowing Levi, that was most _definitely_ synonymous with lover, angel, babe, cupcake, and any other sweet, adorable pet name. Hange got the impression that Levi just wasn’t fully ready to act the true part of the lovesick man he was, but that was okay. They knew how Levi truly felt and knew that Eren did too.

“I hope you wore a condom, mister.”

“I didn’t. Do you think he might get pregnant?”

“It’s possible. Are you ready for a baby?”

“I’ll just push him down the stairs when I get home.”

“LEVI!?”

Levi rolled his eyes yet again at Hange’s ridiculous-looking shocked expression. “If Eren ends up pregnant due to some impossible feat of unexplained science we know nothing about, I would gladly take care of the baby.”

“And you would also let Hange babysit, right?”

“Over my dead body.”

“As usual you’re no fun,” Hange laughed and looked at their watch. “Alright, I guess I’ll leave you alone. Eren told me that he expected you home a little early today and I know you’ll want to get as much work done as possible before you leave.”

Okay, Eren was in for a little punishment when Levi got home: this telling Hange everything that went on between them had to stop!


	15. Chapter 15

The next company dinner was tonight and Eren was beaming at the choice of restaurant.

“Finally some _good_ food!” he exclaimed, forgoing lunch to make sure he was going to be nice and hungry later in the evening.

“The food at the last restaurant we went to was good,” Mikasa said. “The risotto was excellent.”

“Yeah, Levi said that has mushrooms in it and I don’t do mushrooms,” Eren said. “But watch me tonight: I’m about to run up a bill so high I’ll have to sneak out without paying.”

“Now you know that’s not a good idea.”

Eren shrugged. “You gotta do what you gotta do . . . also you’re being awfully quiet over there, Armin.”

“I just don’t have anything to say,” Armin revealed, eyes glued to his phone. “Sorry.”

“Don’t lahhh,” Eren giggled arrogantly, watching Armin’s eyes crinkle in annoyance at his butchered pronunciation of the word 'lie'. “You know you’re still salty over the fact that I _finally_ did something before you.”

“You just couldn’t wait, could you? Way to give it up the first night!”

“Technically it was the second night. Do I need to explain this to you again? Okay, so I went over to his house and it was late, around six-thirty, and I knock on the door, right? And then -

“Eren, you’ve told me the story over ten times! I don’t want to hear it again!” Armin complained, covering his ears. “You’re supposed to be _my_ apprentice. _I_ accomplish the big steps in life _first_ ; then you follow.”

“Well what’s taking so long?! You still haven’t had sex with Erwin yet, have you?!”

“I’m working on it!”

“Give him liquor! GIVE HIM LIQUOR!”

Armin could practically feel the eyes of the other employees streaming in and out of the kitchen staring at them, and he giggled at Eren’s lack of awareness. Or shame.

“I kind of want him to remember it, thank you very much.”

“He will,” Eren assured. “He just needs to be loosened up.”

“I don’t think he has much of a libido to tell you the truth,” Armin sighed. “The situation always presents itself; he just never takes it.”

“Oh, you’ll have to make the first move. I kind of had to make the first move too. Both Levi and Erwin have this idea in their head that we’re going to regret having sex with them as if we don’t know our actions have consequences.”

“Then I’ll just tell Erwin it’s happening tonight. I’m sick of the games.”

“Whoa,” Eren said seriously, suddenly sitting up straighter as the blonde commanded the attention in the room. “Armin, are you possibly gonna top?”

Armin narrowed his eyes, also serious. “If Erwin doesn’t get it together who knows what will happen?”

“This conversation is better had somewhere else,” Mikasa said lightly, standing up and discarding an energy bar wrapper. “I’m going back to work. By the way, I beat you both, so please don’t act so arrogant.”

Eren’s mouth dropped open. “Bitch?! Get back here! With who?!”

But Mikasa only smiled haughtily over her shoulder before making good on her promise and leaving. The two friends both stared at each other as if expecting an explanation, but when they realized that Mikasa hadn’t told either one of them anything, Eren nodded suspiciously and came to his own conclusion.

“I’m channeling my inner Nancy Drew right here, right now.”

“Actually,” Armin said thoughtfully. “It was probably with Annie.”

“. . .”

“Sorry Eren. No sleuthing for you.”

Eren crossed his arms. “I don’t know who Sleuth is, but what I do know is that Mikasa is telling me _everything.”_

“Tonight during dinner?”

“Uh no, I’ll be too busy eating.”

“Tonight after dinner?”

“Uh wrong again, I’ll be too busy having sex. Maybe you can ask her since you’ll be going home alone tonight?”

“Eren,” Armin growled dangerously, watching Eren’s eyes light up in pure amusement. “You’re lucky we’re friends.”

“You know I love you.”

Again Armin sighed, unable to get upset with his best friend. “I love you too, but I ask myself why every day.”

Eren looked as though he was going to answer, but then shook his head in disbelief. “Yeah, I don’t know why. Also, are you gonna tell me who Sleuth is or not?”

“. . . Eren, you _really_ do scare me sometimes . . .”

* * *

Levi couldn’t take his eyes off of Eren that night. He and Erwin had decided to send out a memo informing everyone that they should dress more casually for tonight’s dinner (since they went almost everywhere in suits after all) and Eren looked . . . well, let’s just say, jeans like that should be _illegal._ Eren’s legs were already long, but those high-waisted black jeans and little gray ankle boots were sure to draw everyone’s attention. He was also wearing a dark purple loose-fitting blouse, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. It was tucked in though, so _way_ too many eyes could have full access to his ass and how much it was accentuated in those jeans.

“Damn,” Levi breathed when Eren got into his car. “You got a boyfriend?”

“I do, but I don’t mind playing with you if it’s just for tonight,” Eren responded sheepishly, hands clasped together innocently in his lap.

“I don’t think I can accept that. I’m going to need to see you again.”

“B-but I told you I h-have a boyfriend . . .”

“He doesn’t need to know about me, baby.”

“O-okay, but as long as you promise he won’t find out.”

The small roleplay led to an embarrassingly long make-out session, and Levi couldn’t even be bothered over the fact that his car was still parked in Eren’s driveway. His boyfriend's parents could come out at any moment and demand to know what was happening, but Eren didn’t seem to care about that possibility. So, neither did Levi.

“L-Levi . . .” Eren moaned quietly, pulling Levi’s face further into his neck. “We should go . . .”

Levi didn’t answer and continued to kiss and nibble and suck on Eren’s neck, trying his best not to leave a hickey, but wanting to so badly. Eren was doing that _thing_ with his fingers in his hair and grinding his hips downwards and moaning in his ear and _FUCK._ They needed to stop right now or else his car was going to be parked here all night.

“Okay,” Levi mumbled, finally pulling away from Eren’s neck. He looked up at the beautiful teen straddling him, face flushed and eyes glassy. Eren looked so beautiful under the soft glow of blue and red lights emanating from his dashboard. The A/C was on full blast and blowing Eren’s alluring scent straight into Levi’s face and it was making him dizzy.

“Actually just a little more –

“Nooo!” Eren giggled, weakly climbing back into the passenger seat. “Later, okay?”

“Tch. Don’t ‘later’ me like I’m some sort of dog.”

“You _are_  a dog.”

“Woof.”

Eren giggled again, but this time much louder and for longer. He’d realized this days ago, but Levi was _actually_ funny. Amazingly, he _did_ have a sense of humor, and everyday he seemed to make more jokes. They often bickered back and forth, constantly taking playful jabs at each other, and Eren loved that Levi could hold his own in the conversation and tease him without hurting his feelings or making him feel bad about himself. Their conversations had become completely open and natural, and Eren no longer felt afraid to talk about anything he wanted around Levi. The other day he’d made a whiny comment about how annoying it was to have water splash back up into his asshole after he took a shit and Levi hardly even reacted. Of course, Eren had no idea what was going on in Levi’s head, but if Levi truly thought he was gross he would have said something. And Eren _was_ gross – no one made as many or laughed at as many poop jokes as Eren Yeager.

“Well, you look hot,” Eren said, taking in Levi’s appearance. “I see we twinned with our jeans.”

“My jeans aren’t a second skin,” Levi corrected. “I don’t see how you breathe in those things.”

“I don’t. Beauty is pain, ya know. Plus, I gotta look good for my man.”

“You didn’t have to look _that_ good.”

Eren smiled. “I should have worn my glasses then. No one ever looks at me when I have those things on.”

Levi had a feeling that Eren looked even _cuter_ wearing glasses, but he wouldn’t encourage Eren to prove him wrong on that one. In fact, he’d better stop thinking about it so hard before he crashed his car. So much for his amazing ability to multi-task.

“You look good in anything Eren,” Levi said and then quickly added, “but you look your best in nothing.”

Eren whistled lowly. _“Smooth._ Do you use that one on all of the ladies?”

“Only the lady right next to me.”

“You’re gonna regret calling me a lady.”

“Can’t wait.”

They continued to banter lightly with each other until they reached the restaurant and Eren couldn’t believe it when Levi managed to steal _another_ parking spot, this time from Hanji. Clearly Levi thought he deserved close parking spaces wherever he went, and Eren knew this to be true because Levi had a reserved parking space at work and it was the closest one to the building. No one _dared_ to park in it either- the consequence was getting fired.

Eren learned that there were a _lot_ of ways to get fired at A&E Corporation.

He quickly exited the car and followed Levi up to the door, heading inside and making his way over to Armin and Mikasa.

“I’m _so_ hungry!” was the first thing that came out of Eren’s mouth.

“It’s nice to see you too,” Armin chuckled. “And yeah I’m starving.”

“Me too,” Mikasa said. “This is –

“Alright, I’m going to go sit down with Levi.”

Mikasa growled, grabbing Eren by one of the belt loops on his pants. “Eren!”

“Ugh, what??”

“This is Annie.”

It was then that he noticed the shorter blonde girl standing next to Mikasa and he almost introduced himself with excitement until he noticed the expression on her face. Instead, Eren stuck out his hand politely.

“Hi, it’s nice to finally meet you! I’m Eren.”

Absolutely stone-faced, the girl grabbed his hand. “Annie.”

“This is my girlfriend,” Mikasa added. “So now you know.”

“Oh!” Eren smiled. “Cool! Annie, where do you go to college??”

"I’m twenty-six. I already graduated,” Annie said lowly, retracting her hand and returning it to her side.

“You look young,” Eren noted. “Well, young _er_ I mean.”

Her blue eyes focused on him intensely, leaving Eren to wonder if he'd said the wrong thing.

After a few seconds of silence, Annie nodded. “Thank you. I’m told that often.”

 _A match made in heaven_ , Eren thought to himself as he studied the two women standing side by side with the same expression on their faces. It was almost like he was looking at two Levi’s: _especially_ Mikasa. His parents hadn’t told him much about his sister and Mikasa didn’t exactly know or understand her lineage either, but now that Eren was staring at her he was beginning to see a strange resemblance between her and Levi. The chances of them being related were obviously slim, but their resemblance _really_ was uncanny . . . 

Eren’s stomach suddenly growled loudly enough to attract their attention and he blushed.

“Alright, let’s go,” Armin chucked and began pushing Eren into the dining room and towards the section of the restaurant with four tables shoved together. Eren began to think back to all the times he saw large parties come into restaurants and how irritated he’d been by them. Seriously, who goes out to a restaurant with more than six or seven people? It used to seem a little excessive to him, but his opinion had changed. The last time they all went out to eat it had been a disaster, but seeing all of his coworkers gathered around a table together waiting for him and his friends felt really nice.

Unfortunately he walked into a very awkward scene involving both Petra and Jean arguing over sitting beside Levi. Too busy studying the menu to care, Levi happened to look up and see Eren, and he motioned for him to come and sit beside him. Luckily Erwin was right across from Levi with an empty seat waiting for Armin, meaning that _finally_ Eren would get to talk to a friend tonight.

“Oh look, I don’t get to ignore you this time,” Armin said casually, but immediately became somber at Eren’s expression. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Eren murmured, trying not to appear distressed over two people he _didn’t_ like trying to sit beside his boyfriend. Actually, Jean he didn’t really care about, but the fact that Petra was trying so hard to take that seat was extremely irritating.

“I _need_ to sit by Dr. Ackerman!” Jean insisted, his left hand on the back of the chair.

“But _I_ need to talk to Levi about some of the accounting aspects of the Hong Kong subsidiary!” Petra insisted, her right hand on the back of the chair.

“Okay, but Dr. Ackerman _promised_ that he’d talk to me about his experience in school getting his master’s degree because I’m not too sure if I want to do that or not! I want some insight on post-graduate school!”

“Sorry Jean, but this information is really crucial to discuss. We’ll be finalizing this plan as early as next Friday and I really need to make sure that I’m keeping Levi up to date with the finances!”

“How about I take the seat?”

Almost as if they had been planning this the whole time, Hange slid into the seat like some sort of smooth criminal and quickly got comfortable. “Jean, you can talk to _me_ about post-graduate school whenever you want. I’d be happy to inform you about it. And Petra, you can still discuss finances with Levi while sitting across from me, can’t you?”

Both Petra and Jean grumbled to themselves and walked away to find other seats and unbeknownst to Levi, Hange and Eren were high-fiving behind his back and smiling at each other in victory. Eren truly didn’t deserve Hanji. At this point Hanji had become a second mother to him, and without their help Eren didn’t know where he would be. Petra ended up taking the seat on Erwin’s right, putting her directly across from Hanji, but still too close to Levi’s line of vision for Eren’s comfort.

And Eren wasn’t _stupid:_ it was very obvious to him that regardless of whether or not Petra knew he was dating Levi, she still had feelings for him. She followed him around like a kicked puppy and while Eren could be wrong, it seemed as though the woman had gotten clingier as of late. He didn’t want to hate her – in fact, he couldn’t. Petra may be _deeply_ and _incorrigibly_ in love with Levi, but that didn’t change the fact that she was still one of the nicest and kindest people Eren had ever met. Honestly . . . he was afraid of her.

Because if _he_ liked her, even though she may be in love with the same person he was, then surely Levi liked her as well. How could anyone hate the pretty and petite redhead?

“How the hell did I end up beside _you_ again?!”

Immediately Eren whipped around, Petra now completely forgotten. Finally, something to cheer him up!

“A horse always returns to its master, Jean,” Eren said evilly, watching as Jean turned red in the face with anger.

“Yeager, when are we gonna fight? I’m getting pretty sick of your shit.”

Eren could feel a heatwave behind him and Jean confirmed its source by going pale in the face.

“A-actually Yeager – I – I mean Your Majesty, I _love_ it when you call me a h-horse!”

“Oh how the mighty hath fallen!” Eren laughed boisterously before turning around to Levi and lovingly leaning against him. “Bully horse face some more will ya?”

Levi sighed. “You kids will be the death of me. And ‘Your Majesty,’ Jean? Fucking gross.”

Eren sat there laughing to himself and Jean saw his life flash before his eyes.

“It’s all fun and games, Jean,” Eren teased lightly and Jean mumbled something to himself before looking at his menu.

Eren did the same. “Hey Armin, get something good so I can have some of it.”

“Okay bossy,” Armin chuckled. “What do you want?”

 _“You_ order a dragon roll, a spicy tuna roll, a crab roll, a spider roll, and the volcano roll, and _I’ll_ order -

“I can’t eat all of that!”

“Well I said I would help you!”

“I actually kind of wanted hibachi . . .” Armin muttered, watching Eren’s face darken.

“No Armin,” Eren said stoically. “I want to try some of _every_ sushi roll on the menu.”

“How about I get my hibachi and I get _one_ roll and you can have some of that one?”

“Are you on a diet?! One roll?! Fine, but at least get something deep-fried!”

“Hmm . . .” Armin mused to himself. “What about a nice non-fried California roll?”

“Ugh!” Eren groaned. “You are so basic.”

Levi and Erwin watched in amusement as their two lovers bickered back and forth.

“Reminds me of us,” Erwin chuckled, earning a disturbed look from Levi.

“We don’t argue like that,” Levi said. “Especially not over something so fucking ridiculous.”

Eren gasped and turned to Levi in shock. “Sushi isn’t ridiculous! It’s a lifestyle!”

Levi nodded, totally unconvinced by Eren’s statement. “Order whatever sushi you want, brat. I’ll help you eat it. Just keep in mind that we can come back any time you want so there’s no need to make yourself sick.”

Eren smiled victoriously. “Okay. Are you sure there isn’t anything that you don’t like?”

“It’s all the same shit to me.”

Trying not to get offended at Levi’s lack of culture, Eren happily ordered those five rolls he intended for Armin to get before returning to bothering Jean.

Meanwhile, Hange was sighing and rubbing their temples in aggravation. “I don’t know what to do at this point. I think we’re going to have to make another tough decision and fire someone. Marcus or Catherine will have to go within the week.”

“Fire Marcus,” Levi muttered, thinking back to four years ago when Marcus made a rude comment about his choice of color when it came to his clothing. Apparently green made him look sickly. Fucking Marcus.

“Must we fire one of them?” Erwin asked. “I would rather ensure that we’ve exhausted all other avenues before terminating someone else. It makes the company look bad to constantly cycle through employees.”

“No one is let go without a reason,” Levi argued and then darkened. “I want Marcus gone.”

Hange cleared their throat. “ _I_ want to let Catherine go. Marcus brought complaints to me about her . . . harassment first.”

“Harassment?” Petra asked.

“Exactly. After he ended their relationship months ago she has ceased to quit contacting him. While that in and of itself isn’t a big issue, she has also been spreading false information about him at work in a defamatory way. I’ve already warned her twice for it and she continues to do it,” Hange explained. At Petra’s nonchalant expression, they also added, “And I do not tolerate such interference. When someone says it’s over, it’s _over._ Any advances made by the other party, malicious or not, are inexcusable.”

“Will you call another meeting to discuss it?” Erwin asked. “Or will you just go ahead and submit a request for her termination?”

“I will request her termination. Marcus doesn’t help the situation by reacting the way he does, but it is clear who the provoker is.”

“Since we’re too busy discussing employee relations,” Petra said wistfully, as if she wasn’t taking the opportunity presented before her. “Levi, would you mind stopping by my apartment tomorrow sometime to go over the numbers I’ve gathered? I just want to make sure that we’re not allocating too much money to certain areas of the project and not enough money to other areas.”

Levi looked bored, watching the ice in his glass of water float around. His right hand was also occupied in the warm space of Eren’s left inner thigh and it was becoming hard to focus on anything else. “Whatever.”

Hange was already on it, deciding to test Petra without being too obvious. “I’ll stop by too.”

“You wouldn’t be interested Hange. It’s just costs and budgeting things.”

In an instant it had become clear to Hange just how invested Petra was. While it may not be obvious to anyone else, they could tell by the tone of Petra’s voice and the expression on her face that she was serious. Her intention had _clearly_ been to meet with Levi alone, and the threat of not being able to caused her to give Hange a look they had never seen before. Petra had _never_ been able to make an intimidating or evil face at all, but Hange could tell when _anyone_ looked threatened. They had seen enough threatened looking faces in their lifetime – after all, being called into their office in the middle of the day without a reason was never a good sign, and people knew that.

Hange wasn’t sure whether or not Petra was aware of Levi and Eren’s relationship, but they were betting that she was, which made what she was doing all the more evil and intentional. What did she think was going to happen? Did she _seriously_ think she was going to convince Levi to break up with Eren and date her again? Was it not clear that Levi was absolutely uninterested in her? Or for now, was she only interested in Levi becoming a single man again?

Whatever. It didn’t matter _what_ Petra wanted: she _wasn't_ getting her way!

It was an unfortunate situation too, because Hange _liked_ Petra and was one of the first few people to greet her when Erwin gave her the position. Petra was a great worker and had great potential as well, and Hange wouldn’t have a problem with her if it wasn’t obvious to them what Petra was trying to do. No one else could probably see it aside from Eren since Petra was so nonchalant and casual with her behavior, but Hange had been there when Levi ended things with Petra and it wasn’t exactly amicable.

When Levi first brought it to their attention, Hange had been on the verge of suspending Petra from work and was seriously considering firing her. Levi had tried to present his case of what he referred to as ‘light badgering’ with delicacy, but to Hange it just appeared stalkerish. Petra texted him at all hours during the day, even work hours, and was constantly streaming in and out of his office using excuses that hadn’t made any sense. She was following him around, showing up at his apartment uninvited, and for it to be so bad that Levi felt the need to bring it to Hange’s attention, Hange had right away offered to dismiss her from work temporarily. At Levi’s request, Hange relented and ended up only having a discussion, albeit a very serious one, with Petra about her behavior. Eventually, Petra backed off. She still obviously liked Levi, and that was fine because Hange knew they couldn’t demand Petra to no longer be sexually attracted to him. All Hange cared about was the stalkerish behavior and harassment, and once that had stopped, everything was able to go back to normal.

Perhaps Petra never felt the need to once again commence her adamant pursuit of Levi in the last few years because Levi remained single, but now that she knew he was in a relationship, she wanted to shoot her shot one more time. And that wasn’t going to happen as long as Hange was around. Hange didn’t desire for Petra to find happiness like they desired it for Levi. They had grown up with Levi and watched him suffer and struggle and be moody and arrogant. Hange knew that deep down inside Petra just wasn’t right Levi: _Eren_ was.

Knowing this, they were going to do everything in their power to make sure Levi and Eren remained together. The effects Eren was already having on Levi were incredible – yes, he walked into a door, but according to Levi himself, this was the first time he’d ever felt happy to be alive. No, the man wasn’t and had never been suicidal, but now he was no longer just existing. He was _living._ So, Petra be damned. Plus, as the staring contest continued, Hange was beginning to have less and less sympathy for her.

“I think I should go,” Hange spoke seriously.

Petra’s face continued to darken. “It’s completely unnecessary.”

Levi interrupted them. “I don’t care who’s there. Whatever gets me in and out the fastest.”

Hange wanted to tell Levi to shut up because he had no idea what was going on, but they bit their tongue. “I’m going.”

And when Petra _rolled_ her eyes at them Hange wanted to jump across the table. She was their friend and they still liked Petra, but right now Petra was asking to be strangled. Hange was counting on retaining their friendship while keeping her away from Levi, but as the night wore on that was seeming to become less and less likely. As they ate Petra continued to stare at Hange threateningly, and every once in a while, her eyes would shift to check out her competition, which confirmed with Hange that Petra _did_ know Levi and Eren were dating.

By the end of dinner Eren had shamelessly gravitated into Levi’s lap, the very act seeming to make Petra ill. Hange knew right away when Petra got up to use the bathroom that she wasn’t coming back to the table. That was okay though. Hange didn’t care as long as Levi seemed happy and Eren was smiling and laughing.

Things were going to be okay!


	16. Chapter 16

“Ugh Levi,” Eren groaned, plopping down onto Levi’s couch in a heap of limbs. “Why did you let me eat that much?”

“Didn’t I tell you not to make yourself sick?” Levi grunted, hanging his keys on a small hook beside the door. He reached down and straightened up Eren’s shoes that the brunette haphazardly kicked off before removing his own and neatly placing them by the door.

“Well I didn’t feel sick while I was eating,” Eren complained, narrowing his eyes as Levi approached him. “Go away.”

“Fuck you. It’s ‘later’.”

Eren giggled as Levi swooped him up and carried him to the bedroom. Instead of throwing him down onto the bed, Levi was mindful of his condition and sat him down gently. However, Eren knew that didn’t mean much considering what Levi was about to do to him next.

“Look Levi, I’m so eager I already unbuttoned by pants.”

“That’s just because your gut was busting out of them.”

Eren gasped, playfully hitting Levi with a pillow as the man crawled on top of him. “You ass! You’re supposed to tell me that I’m pretty and skinny regardless of what I say!”

“You’re pretty and skinny,” Levi corrected himself.

He quickly began to jerk off Eren’s clothes, eager to continue what they’d started in the car so many hours ago. “But you’d better not puke on me.”

“Just don’t manhandle me daddy and I won’t.”

Levi paused, eyeing Eren curiously and trying to figure out whether or not he liked Eren’s new pet name for him.

“Sorry,” Eren apologized timidly. “Just testing the waters . . .”

“Hmm. Feel free to keep testing them.”

Eren instantly grew even more shy and simply decided to melt into Levi’s kiss instead of talking more. He began swiftly unbuttoning Levi’s shirt, furious that once again Levi had managed to get him totally naked while still keeping himself fully clothed. While Eren didn’t feel self-conscious of his body anymore, he _was_ just as attracted to Levi as Levi was to him and he needed for Levi to be naked as well. Quickly Eren trailed one hand downwards, over Levi’s abs to stop briefly at the patch of hair below his belly-button. Levi kissed him harder, seemingly frustrated at Eren’s slow place, and Eren swooned at Levi’s eagerness. He wouldn’t deny that it made him insanely happy to know that Levi couldn’t keep his hands off of him – it was the ultimate compliment.

Already he could hear the snapping of the bottle of lube being opened, but to his surprise Levi pulled away from him and moved to the empty space beside him on the bed.

“Get on top.”

Eren’s eyes widened and he was on top of Levi in an instant. “I get to top?!”

“In your dreams, brat,” Levi said and chuckled at Eren’s irritated expression. “I said get _on_ top. There’s a difference.”

“Wow whatever. When can I top? I mean, I know this is only my second time and you’ve probably never bottomed before but what if I really want to in the future? Armin and I talked about this one time and –

“Eren, you’re so beautiful.”

Levi had learned by now how to stun Eren into silence. Not only did comments like that shut him up, but it also caused the most adorable blush to spread across the bridge of Eren’s nose and over his cheeks. Levi enjoyed Eren's expression for a few more moments before placing his lubed up fingers near Eren’s entrance, making the brunette jump lightly in surprise. He would still be gentle with Eren and treat him carefully since it was only Eren’s second time, but Levi had a feeling Eren would be coaxed out of his shell sooner than he’d like. Levi wasn’t too sure he could take it if one day he came home from work and found Eren naked and waiting for him, ass up and moaning as he played with himself, begging for Levi to come and take him. His nose tingled at the thought of it and Levi quickly shooed the idea away: there was no way in hell he’d have a nosebleed in front of his pompous little brat. Not now. Not  _ever._

Eren released a breath he’d been holding when Levi pushed two fingers in and he was silently overjoyed that it didn’t hurt at all. Last time it had been slightly uncomfortable at first, but this time he didn’t even need to adjust. It just felt _good_ and Levi knew exactly how to maneuver his fingers to make him come undone. He dropped his forehead against Levi’s, clutching at the pillows underneath Levi’s head. A small whine escaped his barely parted lips until Levi pressed roughly against his prostate, sending Eren’s head flying backwards as his back arched.

“F-fuck!!” Eren moaned loudly, trying to still his racing heart.

“Watch the profanity, brat.”

In retaliation Eren reached down and grabbed Levi’s dick aggressively as if to teach him a lesson, but Levi only chuckled and thrusted lightly into Eren’s virginal touch. Levi had no doubt Eren would eventually learn how to play his body like an instrument, but for now he would bask in Eren’s adorableness, which was extremely sexy and arousing in its own way. He continued to lazily finger his boyfriend and thrust into his hand, enjoying the view above him. He’d confirmed it a million times already but Eren was truly ethereal. Levi would have shit himself if someone this beautiful had given him attention in high school, and he again wondered how it was possible that no one managed to scoop Eren up before he did.

“L-Levi . . .” Eren begged quietly, tensing up around Levi’s fingers as he again dropped his head weakly. “’m gonna cum . . .”

Well, Levi sure was glad no one took Eren, because he was never letting him go.

“Go ahead,” Levi growled softly, and Eren moaned pathetically as he came, trying not to choke on his own voice as Levi continued to massage his prostate, knowing damn well Eren was about to start sobbing from the over-stimulation.

“Mmm Levi . . .” Eren cooed softly, nuzzling his face into Levi’s cologne scented neck.

Levi ran his hand over Eren’s ass, unable to stop touching his lover even though Eren really _did_ seem ready to tap out. It was pretty late at night as they hadn’t left the restaurant until nine-thirty.

“Giving up?” Levi asked. “I don’t mind.”

Eren laughed softly. “I wouldn’t do that to you. You’re hard as a rock.”

“Tch. Obviously. Have you looked in the mirror lately?”

With shaky limbs Eren pushed himself back up and tried not to think about what he _actually_ looked like right now: disheveled, with a messy head of hair sticking up everywhere and cum all over him. Levi on the other hand managed to look twice as hot as he usually did, Eren noticed. His hair was usually so tame, but when it was pushed back and off of his forehead it allowed Levi’s attractive features to proudly stand out. Those smoldering eyes seemed to stare straight through to Eren’s soul, serious and stern, studying him so very intensely. It was probably what attracted Eren to Levi the most because there were so many emotions and ideas and unspoken words hidden behind those eyes and it only made Eren want to keep coming back for more. Well, that and his jawline, but Eren couldn’t be as poetic about that. Levi’s jawline needed no words because it couldn’t be described with words (in Eren’s humble opinion that is).

Trying not to smile at his own dirty thoughts, Eren slowly ground his hips over Levi’s erection as if the older man needed any warming up. Eren was quickly put into his place when Levi held him steady by his hips and thrust into him in one smooth motion. He allowed Levi to take the lead as he thrust into him with wild abandon. Eren could feel his ears burning as he listened to the sound of Levi’s hips meeting his ass. At the same time it made it want to curl up into a ball and die, it also made him want to throw his head back and ride the shit out of Levi. It was impossible to move though, and at the moment he preferred to be locked in Levi’s tight embrace, listening to him moan in his ear.

“Ooh, watch your profanity,” Eren teased as Levi swore out a string of curse words.

Levi slapped his ass in response and Eren had half a mind to ask him to do it again. God, what was he becoming?

Many excellent moments later Levi came, sighing along with his release and buried deep inside Eren. It was another strange thing he’d noticed about himself. Usually he wasn’t particular about where he came – as long as he did – with previous sex partners, but something about Eren made him want that brat to take all of his cum and not spill a drop.

“It’s hot,” Eren whined, pecking Levi’s mouth over and over again. “It burns.”

“Keep it in,” Levi demanded through the kisses and Eren smirked.

“At least pull out.”

“I will in a second, brat. Can’t I bask in the moments afterwards? Why are you talking so much?”

Eren rolled his eyes playfully but quieted down, continuing to lightly kiss all over Levi’s face. He had a feeling Levi never ‘basked in the moments afterwards’ with his previous partners, so Eren felt a strange sense of responsibility to allow Levi to have his 'moments'. And really, it wasn’t so bad lying here and breathing in Levi’s scent. Eventually Levi caught his mouth with his own and kissed him breathless, running his hands up and down his back to finally rest on his butt. He might be wrong, but Eren believed that Levi might be _slightly_ obsessed with touching his ass. It was extremely flattering, and it _also_ gave Eren other ideas for playtime in the future.

“I love you,” Eren said, giving Levi one final kiss on the forehead. “But get out of me.”

Levi did as he was told and allowed Eren to get off of him and curl up in the bed beside him. “I love you too brat, even though your back is to me and you’ve already moved as far away as possible.”

Eren laughed at the accusation and looked over his shoulder at his forsaken boyfriend. “I just wanted to find a cool spot. Come here.”

“. . .”

“Ugh, you’re so stubborn. I told you to come, dog.”

Levi growled but eventually relented and joined Eren on the other side of the bed, curling up behind him and pulling him close.

“I’ll fucking destroy you next time for that remark.”

Eren smiled at the supposed threat. “I’m not afraid of you.”

“You should be.”

“Whatever. You’re so whipped at this point nothing you say scares me.”

 _This little shit_ , Levi thought, biting Eren’s neck for that comment. The action only made Eren giggle and since Levi enjoyed the natural, uplifting sound, he continued to nibble on Eren’s neck, enticing more of those carefree noises from his mouth. Hearing Eren laugh always made him happy . . . really happy.

Eren was right: Levi _was_ whipped.

* * *

Levi awoke to his phone buzzing on his nightstand and he ignored it for a minute as he groggily came to. Never before had waking up in the morning been so hard. Over the years he’d gotten a better handle on his chronic insomnia, but after Eren had come into his life and flipped everything upside down, he found himself sleeping peacefully through the night without interruptions. It was great to have a good night’s sleep, but it was a bitch to have to wake up in the morning.

Again his phone buzzed and this time he sat up to reach for it, however before he grabbed it he noticed something unusual.

“Eren?” he asked quietly, staring blankly at the empty space in the bed beside him. “Eren?! EREN!!”

“W-what?!” Eren asked, shooting out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around him. “I’m right here!”

He was about to laugh at Levi whining for him to come back, but something about the wild eyes Levi was giving him made Eren immediately reconsider. It actually hadn’t been a whine at all, rather, it was more like the pained scream coming from someone who’d just been abandoned in a dark place . . .

Instead of interrogating Levi about it though, Eren just calmly walked over to the bed and sat down beside him.

“I won’t leave,” Eren said softly, cupping Levi’s cheek before pulling him into a hug. “See? I’m still here.”

Levi buried his face into Eren’s still very wet neck, feeling guilty that he’d made Eren run out of the bathroom without being able to completely dry himself.

That had been close . . . too close.

“Sorry,” Levi said solemnly, and reached for his phone to finally answer it. “You can continue getting ready.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“But –

_“Yes.”_

Levi could tell from Eren’s face that he was only dropping this because he was shivering naked under a towel and probably hungry. He knew that Eren would eventually nail him but for now, he wasn’t ready to talk about it. And it made Levi feel stupid and worthless to be unable to speak about his sordid past and his emotions. Not only could he not put it into words, but he worried about the effect it would have on Eren. He didn’t want to upset Eren or anything, however he knew that if he wanted to stay with Eren long term he would have to tell him _something_. Eren wouldn’t accept him staying silent about it forever, and that was just something Levi was going to have to get over if he wanted to keep Eren by his side.

His phone buzzed once more and Levi _finally_ checked it, finding two missed calls and a text from Petra. Why the hell she was already bothering him _now_ he had no idea, but he opened the text anyways.

 **Petra:** _Hey, just wanted to know when you were coming?_

 **Levi:** _8_

 **Petra:** _That’s kind of late . . ._

Levi shrugged before throwing his phone back down. Who cared if it was late? He needed to spend his morning doing a bit work, and then he wanted to spend his afternoon and evening hanging out with Eren. What was wrong with that?

When his phone went off _again_ (it was starting to irritate him at this point), Levi answered it, figuring the time didn’t work for Petra because she had a prior commitment. However, that was not the text he received.

 **Petra:** _Or is it all part of your plan to come over late hehe_ 😉

“The fuck?” Levi asked himself.

What was that supposed to mean? Yeah, that _was_ his plan.

 **Levi:** _I guess so_

 **Petra:** _Lol k. I’ll be waiting for you_ 😉

Levi didn’t understand what the hell Petra was talking about, why she spelled what he assumed was “haha” as “hehe” or why she was using the – he looked closer at the screen, narrowing his eyes to make sure he was seeing it right – winking Emoji, but he guessed she hadn’t had her coffee yet and was just acting funnily. He wouldn’t entertain any other reason as to why she was texting him the way she was.

Eventually Eren came out of the bathroom fully dressed and still drying his hair. Levi got up to take his shower next, but not without inviting Eren out to breakfast when he was finished.

“Sure,” Eren answered. “But this is why you need food at your house. I know you can’t cook, but I’d be happy to make us breakfast. Sometimes it’s nice to just stay inside and eat together in the privacy of your own home.”

Levi looked like he was considering the suggestion, although mentally he’d already agreed to it. Having Eren say that he didn’t mind cooking for him made Levi way happier than it should have. He wasn’t into the domestic scene or anything, but once again, Eren was forcing him to consider things he’d never thought about before.

“I’ll think about it,” Levi answered roughly, and quickly headed into the shower before Eren saw him blush.

Eren smiled and rolled his eyes at Levi as he ran away from him. He knew he’d just embarrassed the older man by offering to cook for him and knowing how frazzled it made Levi only made Eren want to cook for him even more. However, it was probably unreasonable to assume that Levi had _never_ had anyone cook for him – surely he grew up with a mother and father, right? But if he did, wouldn’t he have pictures of them somewhere? Eren had been in Levi’s apartment enough times to know that Levi didn’t have a picture in sight of _anyone._ Maybe he wasn’t the type to frame things, but Eren _did_ find it a little strange that Levi had virtually nothing that could be identified as an old heirloom sitting around. Eren thought he would have _something_ – maybe an old necklace or old silverware or maybe even an old article of clothing belonging to his parents or grandparents – but no.

Again, Eren wouldn’t push Levi on the subject yet, but that didn’t help sate his curiosity. He entertained asking Hanji about it, though he hesitated to do so because he wanted to hear about Levi’s life from Levi. Besides, asking someone else for information almost felt like going behind Levi’s back. Though Eren knew for a fact Levi would never tell him _unprovoked,_ it still felt wrong to at least not try to coax Levi into telling him. And yes, it might be strange to be so interested in Levi’s past, but if they were going to properly date each other, Eren didn’t want anything to be kept from him. Plus, Eren had a feeling that Levi’s past had something to do with his odd display this morning.

Eren suddenly thought about Levi and the loneliness he must have experienced before they got together and it made his heart ache. He knew Levi probably loathed anyone feeling sorry for him, but Eren couldn’t help it – he was literally the world’s biggest empath.

Deciding to turn on the TV to entertain himself while Levi finished his shower, he made a move to grab the remote when he heard Levi’s phone buzz at the same time. Of course, Eren didn’t hesitate to pick it up and look at the message. Why not? Levi already granted him permission a while ago to look at his phone and Eren was going to take that opportunity. It wasn’t because he didn’t trust Levi – he just didn’t trust _other_ people. And the text let him know why he shouldn’t.

 **Petra:** _Hey, when you come over do you want me to have dinner ready?_

“Bitch,” Eren muttered, and then felt bad for it. He was so conflicted. Half of him empathized with her and half of him hated her. Why couldn’t she just admire Levi from afar and let him live his life? Didn’t she want him to be happy, even if it wasn’t with her? Or did she just want him so much that she didn’t care if he was unhappy? Or maybe she thought she could _make_ him happy? And if that was the case, Eren knew she was probably correct in that line of thinking. There was a time when Levi probably considered dating Petra seriously and it made Eren sick.

It made him sick because he knew he was unjustified in his thinking: Levi had made it clear a thousand times that he didn’t see Petra as anything other than a coworker. If Levi knew Eren was still harping over this it’d probably just make him mad.

But Eren couldn’t resist.

 **Levi (as Eren)** : _Why would I want you to have dinner ready?_

Eren had picked up a few tips and tricks when it came to texting Levi. There were no ‘omg’s’, ‘lol’s’, Emojis, or shorthand. Levi spelled everything out and texted just like he talked. It honestly kind of pissed Eren off because he always felt like a bother when he texted Levi due to the short responses he got back, but he had to remember that without Levi’s tone of voice and face to interpret, he couldn’t get upset over it.

 **Petra:** _I don’t know. Thought you might be hungry._

 **Levi (as Eren)** : _I plan on having dinner with Eren, my boyfriend._

Eren resisted the urge to type ‘my boyfriend’ in all caps with a hundred exclamation points after it.

 **Petra:** _Lol you eat every meal with him now? We can’t just eat together as colleagues?_

 **Levi (as Eren)** : _No._

 **Petra:** ☹ _Fine, but you owe me. We haven’t hung out in a while._

“Who does this bitch think she is?!” Eren asked himself, eyes wide at the audacity.

She doesn’t get to just hang out with Levi whenever she felt like it! And what did she mean by him owing her?! Levi didn’t owe her shit!

 **Levi (as Eren)** : _Too bad because I’m hopelessly and utterly in love with the most beautiful angel on this earth and there’s nothing you can do to change my mind. I know you want me but you’ll never have me, so quit trying so hard because it’s EmBaRRasing!!!!_

Eren hastily placed the phone back down after sending that, knowing that it wasn’t the right thing to do. Now Petra was _surely_ going to act weird around Levi later tonight when they met up - in fact, a quick check let him know that he'd spelled the word 'embarrassing' wrong too! Shit!

Yes, he’d been made aware of the rendezvous at the restaurant (of _course_ he’d been listening) but he had no real reason to be upset about it so he said nothing. Plus, Hanji was going and Eren trusted them to keep everything under control . . . not like things would be getting out of control anyways. All Levi was going over there to do was look at some numbers or something.

Eren wasn’t worried about it all!

Well, _now_ he was kind of worried because he’d been communicating with Petra pretending he was Levi. He hoped and prayed she didn’t know it was him because if she did, she’d absolutely tell Levi. Eren wasn’t sure how Levi would react, but he was certain Levi would scold him. He’d probably even tell Eren to forget about having access to his phone because he couldn’t trust him around it anymore. Great, just great. Eren didn’t care if his privileges to Levi’s phone were revoked, but he _did_ care about Levi not feeling like he could trust him . . . Oh God, what had he done?! Why had he been so impulsive?! What kind of stalker pretended to be their boyfriend while texting someone?! Had he lost his mind?!

Eren nearly jumped out of the bed when Levi exited the bathroom, and he quickly tried to make himself look busy on his own phone. Thankfully, Levi hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary and went into his closet to get dressed, and Eren breathed a sigh of relief. Did he _dare_ delete the conversation between Levi and Petra? Would Levi notice that it had been deleted? Levi seemed like a man who paid attention to the smallest of details, but he probably only paid that much attention when he was cleaning or something, right? He probably wouldn’t notice if the messages had been deleted . . . and even if he did, he probably wouldn’t put two and two together and think Eren did it. Levi would probably chalk it up to his phone just doing things without his permission because what did Levi know about technology! Right?! After all, he doesn’t even know what a meme is!!

“Eren.”

Too late. He’d missed his chance.

“Ready to go?” Levi asked him and Eren stood up abruptly.

“Yeah . . .”

Eren was acting as if this was going to be the last time he ever saw Levi _this_ happy in his life and it was dumb. He had nothing to be afraid of. Levi wouldn’t be mad at him for what he’d done and Eren _hadn’t_ made things worse . . . was what Eren kept telling himself.

“Well move your ass brat,” Levi huffed, getting behind Eren and pushing him towards the front door. “I need to get home and do some work.”

“On a Saturday?!” Eren wailed. “What about me?!”

“What about you? Don’t worry, I’ll have plenty of time to love you when I’m done.” Levi said darkly, pulling Eren to him when Eren tried to distance himself.

“Pervert,” Eren groaned, giving Levi a stern look when he could feel his ass being groped. “Guess it’d be a fair assessment to say you’re an ass man?”

“Hmm. More like an Eren man.”

“Oh Levi, you’re so charming,” Eren chuckled, though he knew he’d set Levi up to make that very comment.

Levi also chuckled and buried his nose into Eren’s hair. “Maybe you should show me how charming you think I am . . .”

Eren said nothing for a moment to make Levi think he’d won before pushing away from him and heading out of the door. “I only perform for men who feed me. Sorry.”

Levi’s eyes were glued to Eren’s ass as he walked away from him.

After regaining his composure he followed after Eren, almost forgetting to lock the door on his way out. He wouldn’t be forgetting, however, Eren’s promise to “perform” for him. Hopefully Eren wouldn’t have any ideas on how to make good on his promise, because Levi felt that he could offer up some pretty good suggestions . . .

* * *

Levi picked up Hange (for what exact reason he didn’t know) before heading over to Petra’s. Hange had mentioned wanting tag along and even requested to be driven there, and while Levi wasn’t an errand boy, he relented and did it anyways. Well, Eren had _told_ him to do it as well. Also, he still didn’t really understand why this whole debacle had to take place at Petra’s apartment, because he could receive and understand the information just as well at work, but whatever.

“Why are you mumbling to yourself like a psycho?” Hange asked as the two of them made their way up the stairs to the apartment. “You know, you’re not supposed to respond to those little voices inside of your head using _your_ voice. Just think your answer.”

“Fuck off,” Levi snapped, and banged on Petra’s door harder than he should have. “I’m just thinking. You should try it sometime.”

“Relax Grumpy,” Hange said innocently. “I was only kidding.”

Levi rolled his eyes just as Petra opened the door. Instead of waiting to be invited in he just walked in because he did whatever he wanted anyways. Petra followed him and ushered him over to the couch and it annoyed him because that’s where he was going anyways. Great – now he was in an annoyed mood. Guess this is what happened when he was separated from Eren.

“How long is this going to take?” Levi asked impatiently.

“Relax!” Hange ordered and took their usual seat beside Levi. “So tense, Grumpy!”

Petra frowned. “Is everything okay, Levi?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Because you seem so irritated . . .” Petra said slowly, clutching the papers to her chest and frowning. “It wasn’t because I asked you to come over was it?”

“No . . .” Levi murmured, trying to reign in the attitude. “It’s not your fault.”

“Okay good! I was worried for a moment. Here’s what I have.”

Although it took over two hours to go over the budget, as always Levi was impressed with Petra’s work and it truly didn’t feel like two hours had passed as he read over her information and asked questions. Not only was everything neat and concise, but she’d also organized it using Levi’s second greatest love in life: Excel.

“This is fine,” Levi said and handed the papers back to her. “Forward your work to me when you get the chance. I’ll call an official board of directors meeting on Monday and have the resolution drafted and signed by Erwin on Friday.”

“Okay, so everything looks good?”

“Yeah.”

Upon hearing a light snore, Levi looked over to see Hange passed out on the armchair of the couch. He rolled his eyes and prepared to jam his fist into their ribcage to wake them up, but Petra abruptly stopped him.

“W-wait!”

“What?”

“Um . . .” she murmured, eyes dramatically downcast and shoulders slumped. “About your texts . . .”

“Oh yeah,” Levi sighed, figuring he couldn’t play dumb in order to escape whatever she wanted to talk about. “What about them?”

“I-I mean, I know that you’re dating Eren and everything, but does that really mean we can’t hang out as friends? It’s been so long.”

“What??”

“What?”

Levi shook his head. “What are you talking about?”

“Well, I just said that you owe me in terms of hanging out and you texted back about . . . wait,” Petra paused, seeming to put two and two together. “Oh, I think Eren might have been texting me from your phone.”

“What the hell??”

Levi confirmed this by opening his phone and reading through the messages to Petra that were supposedly from himself. That last text from Eren made him want to laugh, but Petra was being serious and frankly, so was he.

“Sorry. He’s a little hung up over you.”

Petra frowned. “Hung up? What does that mean?”

“Keeps pestering about those two insignificant dates we went on,” Levi explained casually. “I told him not to worry about it.”

“Hmm . . .”

“But he won’t listen because he’s nineteen and thinks he knows everything. Whatever. He’s only making himself sick over it.”

“So it’s okay then?”

“What is?”

“For us to at least go out as friends?”

Levi didn’t know _why_ he would go out with _her_ when he could go out with Eren, so he answered, but not with complete honestly. He didn’t want to hurt her feelings or anything.

“We shouldn’t. It’ll just upset him.”

“So you’re just completely at his mercy now?” Petra asked, now sitting back against the couch and crossing her arms. “You just do whatever he tells you to do?”

“No.”

But actually yes.

“Obviously you do if you let him dictate who you can and can’t see after work.”

“It’s not like that. But, I’m not doing something I know will hurt him.”

“But didn’t you say he was upsetting himself over nothing? I mean, it’s not fair! Aren’t we friends?”

Levi thought carefully about his answer, watching Petra grow more and more irate as the seconds ticked by. She was _seriously_ angry with him. And for what?? Because he wouldn’t hang out with her?? What if she got mad enough to take it to Hange?

After all, Levi didn’t know _what_ Hange told Petra after he tattled on her three years ago, but Hange hadn’t played around. Petra turned into a new person. Levi wasn’t afraid of Hange as they didn’t hold any power over him, but he didn’t want to upset Petra enough to make her feel as though she needed to tell somebody. But he also didn’t want to give her any ideas because she was being _really_ weird right now . . .

“Do you want to see me after work _that_ badly?” Levi asked, shaking his head with disbelief.

“Of course! I-I always want to see you! I always want to be with you?! Don’t you get it?!”

At this point Hange was startled awake, and they quickly took in the scene of Petra hovering above Levi and yelling in his face.

“What’s going –

“I still have feelings for you, Levi!” Petra screamed, and both Levi and Hange stared at the woman in complete shock. “I’ll never give up on you! And I don’t care if you’re dating Eren! He’s the one that pretended to be you and told me how embarrassing it was to still have feelings for you! _He_ should be embarrassed to be impersonating you! He doesn’t have any compassion or sympathy for me at all! And neither do you Hange! How could you ruin this night for me?! I had it all planned out!”

“Had what planned out?!” Hange yelled, uncaring that Petra had gradually started to cry and then sob dramatically. “Did you think Levi was going to leave a single man after coming here tonight?! Or did you plan to not let him leave??”

“Why are you so invested in this?!” Petra screamed. “You should just let Levi choose who he wants! Your interference has ruined by life! I’ve waited for three years to get Levi back and now he’s dating a _guy?!_ It’s like the ultimate betrayal!”

“I didn’t _make_ Levi do anything!”

"Yes you _did!_ He’s not really in love with Eren! He can’t be! He’s not fucking gay!”

“Don’t you dare,” Hange said lowly, narrowing their eyes at Petra’s shaking form. “If you go there you’ll regret it.”

“Levi, please!” Petra pleaded, turning her attention towards just Levi. “Please choose me! I don’t know what Eren has that I don’t, but I promise I can be what you need! I’ve loved you for all these years and I’ve quietly waited for you to realize that you love me too, but if Hange is just going to keep interfering then I won’t stand by and wait anymore!”

Petra and Hange continued to argue right in front of him and Levi just sat there with a blank expression on his face. This was why office romances never worked out . . . 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, Petra needs to chilllllll


	17. Chapter 17

Eren was hoping and praying that he wasn’t in trouble when he greeted Levi at the door of his apartment at twelve thirty in the morning.

“You’re in trouble, brat.”

Oh shit.

“And don’t try to act all innocent because you know what you did.”

But Eren _did_ act all innocent, dropping his head and shoulders and staring timidly up at Levi through his eyelashes. His bottom lip was poking out and quivering, and his hands were clasped delicately in front of him.

 _“Eren,”_ Levi voiced sternly, feeling like he was scolding his child. “Why the hell did you text Petra all of the shit you did? Haven’t I told you repeatedly to just drop it? Why won’t you? Do you not trust me or something?”

“No!” Eren yelled, vehemently denying the accusation. “I trust you completely, Levi! I swear! It’s _her_ that I don’t trust . . .”

“Why? What do think she’s going to do?”

“I don’t know, probably fill your head with lies about me and make you break up with me and date her instead?!”

“Are you kidding me? That’s the most ridiculous shit I’ve ever heard you say. If you would have just let it go none of this would have happened.”

“What happened? What did she say?”

“Tch. What do you _think_ she said?”

Eren’s face darkened. “Did she tell you she loved you?”

“Obviously.”

“Ugh! See?! This is why I didn’t want you going over there!!”

“Eren, had you not riled her up I could have diffused the situation tonight and ended it! But you _had_ to go and back her into a corner and make her all depressed!”

“So it’s all _my_ fault?? Why the hell do you think I texted her anyways?!”

“Because you’re crazy?” Levi asked, knowing Eren wouldn’t like that answer.

And Eren sure didn’t. “I’m _not_ crazy?! I thought I shouldn’t have done it because I don’t have a reason, but honestly, I _did_ have a reason! It’s your fault for acting so apathetic about the whole situation! You just casually brushed it off like it meant nothing –

“Because it _does_ mean nothing!”

“Well maybe to you it does, but to her it doesn’t and to _me_ it doesn’t! Don’t you know how it feels to walk around knowing that a pretty girl is in love with your boyfriend and wants him for herself?? It makes me _nervous,_ Levi! Okay?!”

“So let me get this straight. You’re still feeling insecure over two dates I went on with Petra _three years_ ago, even though you and I are together now and I’ve told you a hundred times that I don’t have any feelings for her. Am I getting it right?”

“I wouldn’t feel so insecure if you had given me a reason as to why it didn’t work out with her! Sorry, but ‘I don’t know’ isn’t a good answer! I’m intimidated by her and no matter how many times you tell me not to worry about it, I do!”

“Well that’s _your_ problem! It’s not my fault you can’t see reason! Things have gotten worse and it’s all your fault! Firing her isn’t an option because she’s one of my most valuable workers and I refuse to do it over some bullshit _you_ want to hold onto!”

“I didn’t say anything about firing her!”

“Then what do you want?!”

“I want you to sit her down properly and explain to her that you’re in a committed relationship with me and that she needs to move the fuck on! She needs to stop trying to see you alone after work, she needs to quit following you around at work, and she needs to meet someone else!”

“I don’t even have control over those things, Eren! I can’t control what other people do; I can only control what _I_ do and I wish that was good enough for you, but clearly it’s not!”

Eren knew he was going to lose this battle, but he wouldn’t go down without saying everything that was on his mind. “All I’m asking for is a little validation! Acknowledge that she’s in love with you and acknowledge that she wants to steal you away from me! Fucking acknowledge it!”

 _“Fine!_ I acknowledge it! I also acknowledge that I’m going to have to hear about Petra for the rest of my life from you and that you’re going to be screaming at me on my death bed for going out on two dates with her!”

“That’s not true! I’m letting it go!”

“The hell you are! You’re going to keep badgering me about it and you’re talking to the wrong person! I can’t do _anything_ about it!!”

“You can,” Eren scoffed. “You just won’t. You can get right up in her face and tell her to fuck off because you’re happy with me but you won’t – probably because you secretly _want_ her to like you.”

“You’re a piece of shit, you know that? Are all teenagers this fucking self-serving and demanding?”

“Oh, sorry for being demanding for wanting my boyfriend to make it clear to his ex who we both have to work with and see every day that he’s over her and in a happy relationship! I can’t believe we’ve reached a time where someone is demanding for wanting people to know that their partner is taken! Who’d have guessed?!”

“This isn’t even a happy relationship! It’s a miserable one because I feel like I’ve done something wrong to you and I can’t fix it! I’ve moved on from her! Why can’t you?!”

“Because _she_ won’t move on!!!”

“I’ve already told you there’s nothing I can do about that!!”

Eren rolled his eyes and just gave up. Clearly there was nothing he could do on his own end so it didn’t matter anymore. He went back and forth with this, and no, he probably _shouldn’t_ have texted Petra from Levi’s phone pretending to be Levi. But whatever. He just wanted to go to bed.

“So that’s it?” Levi asked coldly. “You’re done?”

“Done with what?” Eren asked suspiciously. “I’m done alright. If you can’t understand why I’m upset then I’m giving up. All I want is for you to understand how I feel, but it’s hard for someone to do that when they don’t have any empathy.”

“Well I’m sorry I’m so fucking stupid and worthless! Just leave if you don’t like it! Go and abandon me like everyone else in my life did!”

 _Whoa,_ Eren thought, visibly shocked that Levi had come to that conclusion so quickly. “Levi –

“Go!”

“But –

“GET OUT!”

“NO!”

Instead of leaving Eren just grabbed Levi and jerked him into the bedroom, forcing him down onto the bed. Levi probably hated being restrained when he was so angry, but a small part of Eren didn’t trust Levi to be responsible of his hands while he was so pissed off.

“You’re not stupid and you’re not worthless!” Eren said desperately, hoping Levi didn’t think he was just saying this for no reason. “And I’m not going to abandon you! We’re never going to have the perfect relationship and we’re going to fight sometimes, but I’m not going to leave you because I’m angry with you.”

“. . . Let go of my wrists,” Levi demanded.

“Okay . . . but don’t hit me.”

“Fuck you!” Levi growled, and when Eren released his wrists he crawled out from under him and headed towards the bathroom. “We _both_ don’t trust each other! Fucking _great.”_

Eren frowned, getting up and following after Levi. Even though Levi refused to reciprocate the hug, Eren wrapped his arms around him tightly and buried his face into his neck. “I’m so sorry, Levi. You know I trust you and I trust you not to hit me, but you were just really angry. We all sometimes do things that we regret when we’re angry and I just didn’t want you to make a mistake that might haunt you for the rest of your life.”

Levi wanted to snap at Eren again for even entertaining the idea, but he was right. There had been multiple instances where Levi wished someone had been there holding him back so that he didn’t physically lash out and end up hurting someone. Things like that were behind him now, though perhaps he just _looked_ like the type of guy who might strike someone if he got angry enough. If that was the case, then he couldn’t blame Eren for being afraid.

After some time he reciprocated the hug and immediately felt better with his arms wrapped around Eren. He didn’t want to lose him, and although that fight really hadn’t been _his_ fault (in his opinion) he probably shouldn’t have yelled at Eren so much . . . or called him a piece of shit . . . or said that he felt miserable in their relationship. None of those things were true obviously. Levi was forever grateful that Eren was in his life, and Eren could have just as easily walked out and found someone else.

But he didn’t.

He stayed: even when Levi had screamed at him to get out.

“I’m sorry,” Levi apologized, feeling Eren fully relax in his arms. “And don’t think something isn’t going to be done about this. Petra will be dealt with appropriately.”

“I know,” Eren said. “I was just, for lack of better words, being a brat.”

“That’s what you do best, isn’t it?”

Eren furrowed his eyebrows together and tried to give Levi his best annoyed looking expression, but he apparently didn’t do a good job because Levi just smiled lightly.

“You’re cute, Eren.”

“I’m aware.”

“Want to shower with me?”

This was another thing Eren had learned about Levi: he couldn’t read social cues. _Or_ the mood. In addition to that, Levi probably didn’t have any shame and lacked impulse control, but Eren wouldn’t fault him. He liked learning about Levi’s odd quirks and behavioral patterns. Maybe Eren even liked learning about _people_ in general.

“Okay,” Eren agreed happily before growing serious. “But don’t try to fuck me. Three times was enough for today and I’m sore.”

“Oh,” Levi murmured before shrugging. “Then I’m not interested.”

“Hey!”

“I’m kidding brat. Get undressed; I’ll keep my hands to myself.”

Levi _didn’t_ keep his hands to himself at all, although Eren didn’t really expect him too.

* * *

The next day at work had been less awkward and eventful than Eren hoped, because to his dissatisfaction he was _not_ invited to the meeting with Petra and Levi, so he was unable to provide his commentary about the situation. Perhaps it was for the best, as a part of him still felt bad for Petra, however he wanted to roast the hell out of her for all the mental anguish she’d caused him. Thankfully his lack of an invitation was more than made up for as Hanji allowed him to run the human resources department in their absence. It was a huge honor that they had chosen him over Christa and Marco – who were _excellent_ workers Eren knew. In fact, they were _so_ excellent that Eren decided to pass the torch to Marco when his coworker told him some pretty interesting news.

“What?!” Eren screamed, turning around in circles excitedly in the swivel chair. “Jean told you _what?!”_

“Well, he didn’t really tell me _anything,”_ Macro said, clasping his arms behind his back and scuffing the sole of his foot against the ground. “He just . . . asked me if I wanted to hang out sometime.”

“And you’ve brought this to my attention because . . .?”

“W-well, I know that you and him talk a lot a-and . . . I don’t know. Do you think he likes me? I feel like he might, but I don’t know.”

Eren gasped, both hands covering his mouth in shock. “You’re so pure, Marco . . .”

Marco laughed, clearly uncomfortable with the entire situation. “I’m really not . . . and I know it’s not my place to ask you this, but . . .”

“You want me to find out for sure?” Eren asked. “Because I will! I don’t mind! I’m kind of interested in seeing what that horse face gets up to every day.”

“Horse face?”

“Eh, it’s an inside joke. Just man the phone for me while I’m gone, okay?”

“Really?” Marco asked hopefully. “Eren . . . you really don’t have to do this.”

“The human resources manager around here plays matchmaker,” Eren explained. “I know from experience. Thus, I have to do the same.”

After trying to convince Marco that he didn’t need to thank him and think so highly of him, Eren practically skipped off to locate Jean. So . . . that horse face liked Marco huh? At first, Eren didn’t see it happening. Jean was so abrasive and Marco was so pleasant. Plus, Eren felt a strange sense of responsibility over Marco. While he knew Marco could make his own decisions and could date whoever he wanted, wasn’t it a bit cruel to give him the go ahead to be with Jean? Shouldn’t Eren let Marco in on just how pompous and arrogant Jean was? How could it possibly be fair of him to approve of a relationship between two complete opposites?

But of course, Eren finally remembered that he and Levi had pretty much been in the same situation and _they_ managed to get along, save for the few spats they’d already had. In fact, his and Levi’s situation was even _more_ caustic than anything that could ever develop between Jean and Marco because Levi could be so strange, awkward, and moody, and Jean wasn’t really any of those things. Jean was certainly an asshole, but Eren had to admit, he probably knew how to spit some game. He was in college after all, and college students knew how to flirt with other college students.

As Eren peaked in offices looking for Jean he grew even more excited. He was entirely too happy to be entrusted to this task by Marco. Admittedly, he wanted to see Jean squirm, go red in the face, and stutter over explaining his feelings for Marco. Oh what joy he was about to receive, and it wasn’t even lunchtime yet!

Eventually Eren spotted Jean with a laptop holed up in an empty office with papers scattered around him. He actually looked like he was involved in a complex math problem and he had the eraser of his pencil clamped lightly in between his teeth. Eren knew that Jean had to be smart, but with his eyebrows furrowed and left hand working a TI-84 calculator, he _actually_ looked like an intellectual.

A bit dumbfounded, but not to be deterred, Eren happily skipped into the room. “What’s going on, pony?”

“Ugh, not you,” Jean groaned, dropping the pencil noisily into the papers. “What do you want? Can’t you see I’m busy, Yeager?”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! That’s no way to treat Cupid.”

“Cupid? You think you’re Cupid? HA – maybe if Cupid were ugly and the product of an incestuous relationship, and if that’s the case, I’ll calmly have to proceed to kill you with fire.”

Eren narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms tightly over his chest. “If Marco knew you could be this insulting I don’t think he’d _ever_ give you a chance.”

Immediately Jean snapped to attention and ignored Eren’s infamous evil little troll smile that always seemed to stretch across his face at times like this.

“W-what about Marco?”

“Already stuttering Jean? Aww, you really have it bad, huh?”

“I-I’m not, ugh! The hell are you talking about, Yeager?! Y-you know, I go to private school!”

“Oh Jean,” Eren sighed sadly, shaking his head at the mess before him. “I’m beginning to feel sorry for you. You can’t even respond coherently at this point . . .”

“I’m going to tell Dr. Ackerman that you’re distracting me!” Jean threatened. “Leave now while you still have your job!”

“If you think my _boyfriend_ is going to fire me, you’re nuts,” Eren laughed. “And fine, I’ll stop bullying you. I’m trying to hone my inner human resources match-making skills after all.”

“What are you talking about?”

Eren smiled and walked over to Jean, pulling up an extra chair that happened to be in the corner of the room. Sitting down and crossing one leg over the other like a therapist, he continued to speak in his most gentle voice. “Jean, you _know_ what I'm talking about. Marco told me everything.”

“E-everything?!” Jean squeaked. “O-oh God . . .”

Eren’s eyes widened at Jean’s response. Marco obviously hadn’t gone too in depth with him about the conversation he’d had with Jean, because Jean sounded and looked as though he’d spoken about something  _very_ illegal with Marco.

“Relax,” Eren said. “He didn’t tell me anything bad. Did you say something weird to him?”

“Hell will freeze over before I tell you what I said to him,” Jean muttered sourly.

“Whatever horse face. I’m trying to help you here.”

“I-I don’t need your help! I think he’s cute but so what?! I can work through this myself!”

“Maybe you can, but Marco wants an answer.”

“An answer . . .?”

“Well, it’s like this,” Eren said, sitting back and taking a deep breath. “Marco came up to me acting all innocent and shy and told me that you’d asked him if he wanted to hang out. By the tone of his voice, Marco seemed confused on which type of ‘hang out’ you meant, because there’s obviously the ‘going to the mall’ type of hanging out and the ‘Netflix and chill’ type of hanging out . . .”

“I-I mean . . . yeah, I asked him if he wanted to hang out, but then I kind of went on this whole spiel about h-how I liked him and stuff.”

“Okay . . .”

“But he might have the wrong idea because I also kind of told him to forget I said anything.”

“What the hell?!” Eren cried. “Why are boys so difficult?! I used to think it was just Levi but you’re literally the same way! What is so hard about being honest?!”

“H-have you ever confessed to someone you find cute?!” Jean asked, trying not to feel exasperated at Eren’s questions. After all, much to Jean’s dissatisfaction, Eren was right. “I-it’s just hard, man! Plus, we’re here to work! And what if Marco doesn’t like me that way?! Besides, I was honest at first! I just got scared of being rejected so I told him to forget about it!”

“So you chickened out at the last moment?” Eren asked, and when Jean nodded sadly he sighed. “Dude, just tell him. In the beginning I kind of didn’t want you two together because I feel like you’re a jerk and Marco is an angel, but now I just feel sorry for you. Marco likes you back.”

Jean gasped and Eren really thought he never looked more like a horse face than in that moment right there. “Really?! He said that?”

“He didn’t say it, but you can trust me.”

“Can I Yeager?” Jean asked suspiciously. “Can I _really_ trust you?”

“Yes,” Eren laughed. “You can trust me. Marco entrusted me with the task of finding you and confirming whether or not you liked him back. Now that I know he likes you and you like him, the next call is yours.”

“Um . . .” Jean mumbled, trying not to smile. “Wow . . .”

“Aww horsey!! You really _are_ a good boy!”

“SHUT UP!”

“No way! I feel accomplished!” Eren proclaimed, standing up in victory. “I have successfully played Cupid and matched two people up! Kneel before me!”

Jean rolled his eyes. “In your dreams. This is why I like Marco so much. He’s so quiet and submissive and he’d never act like such an arrogant little asshole.”

“I can take credit where credit is due,” Eren scoffed. “Want me to ruin this for you? Because I can.”

“N-no! Okay, okay, I’m sorry!”

“Good. So do you want me to explain to him that he should just be a little more patient with you and give you some more time?”

“U-um . . . yeah actually. That’d be great. But don’t make me sound like a jackass or anything,” Jean said sheepishly. “I want to be able to impress him with my confidence. I mean, I don’t want him to think I’m some little bitch.”

Eren took in the request, hands on his hips skeptically. “Hmm, sounds like a pretty tall order, Jean.”

“Please . . . ?”

At the sound of Jean’s desperate voice, Eren’s mouth dropped open and his arms fell to his side. “Aww Jean, you _can_ be adorable . . .”

“Obviously. This is the face of Jean the III.”

“Don’t tell Marco that,” Eren said, quickly wrinkling his nose in disgust. “It’ll turn him off really fast.”

“Just because I don’t turn _you_ on doesn’t mean I won’t turn someone else on, Yeager. Give me a break.”

Eren laughed and turned to walk away. “You’re right. Okay, I’m going to report my findings to Marco now.”

“Hey, Yeager?”

“What?”

Eren was surprised yet again when Jean wrapped his arms around him in a way too tight hug. It was almost as if Jean had never hugged anybody in his life because this was certainly not the way to do it. Giving someone a tight hug was one thing, but damn near crushing their spine was another.

“J-Jean!” Eren croaked, struggling to get a breath. “I-I-I c-can’t breathe.”

“Oh sorry,” Jean muttered, quickly loosening his arms and feeling Eren inhale against him. “I was just happy.”

“Well I’d hate to see you ecstatic!”

“I got a little too excited . . . Sorry.”

“It’s okay horsey. I’m just glad you love me now.”

Jean narrowed his eyes, wondering if he should refute the suggestion, but Eren was smiling like a dork and he decided to let it go.

“Whatever. You better love me too and not betray me.”

Eren looked offended. “Never!”

“Good. Now get out. If I don’t get this work to Dr. Ackerman he’ll probably decapitate me.”

“Fine. I’ll text you later what I find out, okay?”

“Sounds good.”

Although Eren didn’t see anyone on his way out, someone who’d just _happened_ to walk past the room at the wrong time and had heard the last part of the conversation shared between Eren and Jean was currently sweating bullets.

They weren't sure what to do or who to tell, but . . . it had to have been a misunderstanding, right? At least, they sure hoped it was . . .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder who it was . . .


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: The second part of the chapter is stressful to read.

Erwin couldn’t even look Levi in the eye this morning. After what he’d seen last night, he couldn’t look _anyone_ in the eye. Though he was a stern man who meant only business, especially in the office, Erwin was the first to admit about himself that he couldn’t keep secrets. Well, actually, this wasn’t a secret! This was a serious, life-changing event that involved his dearest friend, Levi! And yes, even though at first Levi had given him hell about dating Armin, Erwin didn’t think Levi deserved _this._ It . . . it might have been a misunderstanding, but how _could_ it be? Eren told Jean that he was glad he loved him now and Jean responded by telling Eren that he loved him too and to not betray him! What could that mean other than what Erwin _thought_ it meant?! Had Eren been seeing Jean this whole time?! And _then_ Eren was going to text Jean later about what he found out . . . what did he plan on finding out!? Was it as something as devious as finding out when Levi was going to be busy so that Eren and Jean could meet up and fool around?! Was it _really_ that serious?!

He tried to compose himself as he paced in a small meeting room, wondering if telling Levi was the right thing to do. They were in their thirties and didn’t need to be gossiping about this kind of stuff, right? But _because_ they were in their thirties, did that mean Levi didn’t deserve to know if he was being cheated on? A-and Eren wouldn’t do that to Levi, right?! Of course, Erwin wasn’t stupid and had been informed by Armin of Eren’s crush on _him,_ but surely Eren had gotten over it by now. Or what if Eren was just the type of kid to develop affection for anybody that gave him some attention? . . . He didn’t want to think _badly_ about Eren though: truthfully, Erwin thought he was a great kid, and both Armin and Levi adored him. Surely if Armin believed Eren was capable of doing something like this, he would have shared that information with him . . . They were lovers after all.

Or maybe Armin had no idea Eren was this way. Maybe Eren just . . . didn’t like to get too serious with people, which was fine in Erwin’s book, but if that was the case then there was no reason for him to be with Levi. There was no problem with twenty-year-olds playing around, but Levi and himself were at the age where they both wanted serious, committed relationships. Besides, Levi trusted Eren and expected him to be faithful, and if Eren wasn’t . . .

Erwin didn’t know how to feel. He didn’t know whether or not to be upset, because he really didn’t know if it was true. However, now that he actually thought about it . . . he remembered himself, Armin, and Eren contemplating at the first restaurant they went to whether or not Jean was the type to bully the one he liked. Erwin had even said out loud that he believed that Jean could have a crush on Eren. And Eren hadn’t denied the accusation. He hadn’t said anything about it actually. Maybe because they were already hooking up at that point?!

But if they were, why the _hell_ would Eren even get into a relationship with Levi? Was it all to break up with him one day and disappoint him? It was pretty obvious that Eren and Levi had gotten off on the wrong foot. Maybe Eren was just really vengeful, and eventually, though Erwin didn’t know when, Eren would harshly relieve himself of Levi by telling him that he’d actually been dating Jean the whole time?! Levi would be **devastated** too. He would probably never date again and that wasn’t an exaggeration. Being broken up with after he was _this_ invested into a relationship would finally end Levi’s ability to trust anyone else at all. Thus, Erwin couldn’t let that happen.

But he also couldn’t let Eren cheat on Levi either!

Eren _had_ to have been cheating.

There was just no other way to justify the conversation he’d had with Jean. And the way Jean and Eren bickered was just an excuse to hide the fact that they were dating. This was awful. Erwin liked Jean too! He was such a good kid, and exceptionally smart for his age! He had so much potential in the field he wanted to go into, but was he callous enough to condone what Eren was doing with Levi? Perhaps teenagers just really didn’t care about people’s feelings nowadays . . . except for Armin. Erwin didn’t even need to entertain the idea that Armin could somehow be apart of this _or_ condone it. Armin also probably trusted Eren too much and would never believe he could do something like this, but . . . the conversation didn’t lie. Erwin had heard what he’d heard.

And _now_ he had to tell somebody.

It was just that simple.

Knowing that it had been Hange who’d set Levi and Eren up in the first place, Erwin quickly pulled out his phone and dialed their number. He couldn’t risk stopping by Hange’s office for fear of Eren being there . . . and he was so _conflicted._ He didn’t want to hate Eren, but if Eren was really doing this to Levi, he would never forgive him!

“Hello?” Hange asked, answering the phone curiously. “Erwin, it’s unlike you to call me on my personal cell phone at work. Is everything okay?”

“No . . .” Erwin said slowly and walked over to the door to the meeting room to make sure it was locked. “I think I overheard something yesterday that I wasn’t supposed to hear . . .”

“Okay . . .” Hange responded, their voice also sounding rather unsure. “Is it something I can fix?”

“I mean . . . I hope it is.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I think Eren is cheating on Levi.”

“What.”

“With Jean.”

“What! Hahahaha! Erwin!! Don’t be ridiculous!”

Erwin tried not to get offended over Hange boisterously laughing at him over the phone because he was serious! He heard it with his own two ears!

“Hange, _listen_ to me. He and Jean were saying that they loved each other!”

“No.”

Their voice still sounded as though they didn’t believe a word he said, and somehow Erwin was beginning to think he needed to take matters into his own hands. Hange may not be concerned for Levi’s well-being, but he sure was.

“Yes. Jean told Eren not to betray him. Honestly, I shouldn’t have even called you. This matter shouldn’t be discussed using company time.”

“You’re right. I still think you’re confused, so don’t you dare tell Levi.”

“What?? Why not?”

“Because you’ll send him into a psychotic episode, that’s why!”

Erwin rolled his eyes. “He isn’t that impulsive, Hange. I’m sure he’ll handle this situation like he does every other one: professionally and with great character.”

“Erwin,” Hange said seriously, not leaving any room for argument. _“Don’t.”_

“You’re _my_ subordinate, Hange.”

“I’m also your friend and I’m telling you to not say anything. At least let me talk to Eren about it, first.”

“Talk to him right away.”

“He, Marco, and Christa are working on a project for me in another room and I want to give them time to finish it. I’ll talk to him at the end of the day because I’m sure the explanation behind what you heard is long and tedious.”

“Indeed, it probably _is_ a long story.”

Hange sighed at the insinuation behind Erwin’s words. “It’s not true, Erwin. I don’t care what you heard, but it’s not true.”

“Alright. I know you don’t believe me, but Levi is my friend.”

“He was _my_ friend before he was yours. _I_ approached him first, Erwin. And trust me, I'm looking out for Levi’s best interests just like you are!” Hange pleaded. “Look, we really shouldn’t discuss this anymore. It’s unprofessional.”

“You’re right.”

“Okay. Thank you for telling me, but I’ll take care of it. And _don't_ tell Levi, anything: it's dangerous.”

“Alright.”

As soon as they hung up Erwin told Levi. He _had_ to. And the fact that Hange didn’t believe him  _really_ upset him too! Why did they think it was impossible for Eren to cheat? Not only was it possible, but it happened all the time! After all, Eren was young, Jean was young, and perhaps Jean too was in a relationship besides the one he had with Eren. It was what kids did!

Erwin explained all of this very carefully to Levi as well, making sure he told his truth so that it was as unbiased as possible, and very factual. Levi seemed to take the news better than Erwin thought he would. Thus, Erwin didn’t feel as though anything was wrong when they hung up and he went back to work. Thankfully since Levi wasn’t upset, he probably wouldn’t take a break up between he and Eren too hard.

Perhaps Erwin had been wrong about Levi this entire time?

Maybe Levi was going to recover from this more quickly than he thought he would?

* * *

Levi felt like death. He couldn’t even breathe. He didn’t even have it within himself to get angry either. When Erwin first explained it to him he’d been _extremely_ angry, so vividly incensed and enraged that he was seeing red. But before he could do anything about it he just crumpled into his chair and dropped his head against his desk. This couldn’t be happening. This _couldn’t_ be happening.

But honestly, it very much _could_ have been happening, because how could Eren have really loved him anyways? With the whole Petra thing that had been looming over his head, Eren probably never felt like Levi was ever serious about him, and that totally wasn’t true. Levi had been so indifferent towards the situation because to him, it really didn’t matter since he was over her. But to Eren it _did_ matter. It had mattered from the beginning and because Levi never did anything about, Eren had probably decided to keep his options open. It all made perfect sense as to why and how Eren could have been seeing Jean this whole time. That whole little bickering thing that went on between them was actually just vicious flirting. That much was obvious and Levi should have known that the first time they all went out to eat together, but he was too dumb to read the mood or understand social situations like that, so of course it’d gone right over his head. It was clear that Eren liked the type that treated him like shit because why else would Eren have put up with him all this time? Jean probably treated Eren like shit too behind the scenes, because Levi could see some of himself in Jean and they both probably acted the same in relationships. In the end, it seemed as though Eren was never truly serious and that was because Levi never properly diffused the situation with Petra. Also, Eren had probably been seeing Jean long before deciding to get into a ‘relationship’ with him, and why Eren was doing this to him, Levi didn’t know.

Eren probably hated him, which was understandable. Most people did.

And that was where Levi’s thoughts ended because he couldn’t think about this anymore. He was going to lose Eren. Actually, he’d never even had him in the first place.

Without getting any work done, Levi managed to hold the same position for the rest of the day, unaware at how much time was passing by. He was getting behind on everything, and this was something that usually  _really_ unnerved him, but right now Levi couldn’t even be bothered to care. This was why he should have never entertained the idea of dating Eren, no matter how much Hange thought he should. Actually, he’d _never_ even really been dating Eren and now he was so hung up on him that he couldn’t even move.

He and Eren were _supposed_ to meet up and head out for dinner after work, but fuck that. Levi never wanted to see Eren again. In fact, he wanted to tie his hands and feet and throw him in the ocean. Eren didn’t deserve to live with this much power over him. Jean could join him of course. They could both sleep happily with the fish for all Levi cared and once they were dead they could burn in hell for eternity. He wasn’t even a religious man, but he hoped and prayed that there was a hell and that Eren and Jean would end up in it. After making a big deal out of being the ‘good’ type of possessive boyfriend, Levi could almost laugh at how he ended up. He was possessive alright – if he couldn’t have Eren, then _**no one could**._

“Levi?”

The voice that came from the other side of the door was unmistakable and he should have been grateful for whatever force was keeping him from getting up and opening it. If he opened the door, he might just snap Eren’s neck.

“Hello?? You’ve got your door locked like a weirdo so I can’t come in.”

Would he really kill Eren? No, obviously not . . . but he wanted to. No, he  _really_ wanted to. Fuck Eren. Fuck him for doing this to him!!

God, he was so angry . . . he was an angry person in general, but now his rage was ten times worse. What should he do? Levi was getting up and walking to the door now. He couldn’t stay trapped in his office forever. But he also couldn’t remain this angry. He had to do something to make the anger go away and he had to control himself at the same time.

Everything was on the line here.

Levi had a career, he'd built up a huge fortune, and he'd defied all odds and escaped from the slums he was brought up in.

He couldn’t lose everything . . . or maybe he already had.

“I also need to talk to you. Hange said something about Erwin misunderstanding a conversation I had with Jean, and if he told you something bad about me, I want to clear it up. Nothing happened or has happened between Jean and I. We we’re just having a friendly conversation. Jean likes someone else,” Eren explained, and he was beginning to wonder how long Levi was going to keep him locked out.

“. . . Wow. You really think I’m going to fall for that lie?” Levi asked lowly, forehead pressed against the door. “I know you think I’m stupid, but I’m not _that_ dumb . . .”

“What the hell?? I don’t think you’re stupid!” Eren argued. “And it’s not a lie!”

“It all makes sense. I know you were seeing him behind my back . . .”

“Levi –

“Fucking _whore.”_

Eren sighed, trying not to allow the venom with which those words were spoken hurt him. “You need to open the door, Levi. It was all a misunderstanding.”

“You’re just like the rest of those bitches. I never did  _anything_ to _anybody_ and in the end, everyone just wants to fucking stab me in the back.”

Eren didn’t know what to say. He’d gone through an emotional breakdown before, but compared to what he’d gone through, Levi was experiencing a nuclear meltdown. He was so  _so_ sensitive. In fact, Levi was so sensitive that Eren didn’t know how to handle the situation. He didn’t know what he could do or say to convince Levi otherwise because at this point, it didn’t even sound like Levi on the other side of the door. It sounded like a monster.

“Levi –

“I want you dead.”

Eren froze, trying not to cry. What the hell was happening? It felt like Levi was slowly slipping away from him and Eren couldn’t do anything about it.

“Levi –

“If you call my name one more fucking time, I’ll kill you and Jean. I don’t give a fuck anymore. I don’t give a fuck because you betrayed me!!!!”

“Please . . .” Eren whined, closing his eyes tightly as tears slipped through them and streamed down his cheeks. He was so scared and sad and upset and hurt and stressed out all at the same time.

“I want you dead, Eren,” Levi repeated, speaking with so much conviction in his voice that Eren knew it was true. “I want to kill you so badly and I know I shouldn’t because I have so much to lose but this fucking _hurts!”_

“I didn’t cheat on you,” Eren sobbed quietly. “I promise. I love you so much Levi, even _if_ you threaten to kill me. And I’m really scared right now because I know you mean it, but I’m not leaving you.”

“Leave me alone,” Levi mumbled. “I’m dead inside anyways. There’s nothing left . . .”

“Yes there is! I’m not going to believe that all the time we spent together meant nothing! Levi, please let me in! Please!”

“If I let you in, I’m going to kill you! Just go away!”

Eren didn’t know what was wrong with Levi, but if he could just explain this to him face to face, he knew he could fix everything. Never in his life had Eren hated someone, but right now, he absolutely hated Erwin. What the hell could he have said to reduce Levi to this kind of state?

“Please let me in . . .” Eren begged weakly. “I’ll stay here all night if I have to. Let. Me. In.”

 _Why isn't Eren leaving?_ Levi thought to himself, now growing desperate. He wanted Eren to just disappear. If Eren left, everything could just return to how it was. If Eren left, Levi could just go back to the way life was before. It was so much easier to trust no one and by expecting nothing, Levi could never be hurt. He’d trusted someone once, and he ended up losing his people. His _friends._ His livelihood. He couldn’t do it anymore. He was about to lose everything once again because he’d made the same mistake. This person was going to take away everything he’d worked for because he opened his heart. There was no such thing as a true friend, true lover, true companion, true _anything._ No one _ever_ had his best interests at heart, and in the end they all just wanted to destroy him.

“Levi!” Eren screamed pathetically, now banging on the door. “Open it! I’m going to draw a crowd out here if you don’t open it right now!”

Levi also sobbed quietly to himself, sitting on the ground and slumped against the door. Why wouldn’t Eren just go? It would make everything easier for him. Didn’t Eren get that? How many times did he have to ask someone to go away?

“Levi! Levi, please! LEVI?! Can you hear me in there??”

Yes, he could hear him. But he didn’t feel like talking.

“You haven’t _killed_ yourself, have you?! I don’t know how you’d do it in there, but I just need to know that you’re alive!”

Levi let Eren cry out for him for another twenty minutes before he himself ran out of tears and was just sitting on the ground staring numbly at the floor. Emotions hurt so badly. Maybe Eren had a point about him having to come to terms with what happened in the past in order to move on from it.

And _finally_ he opened the door to find Eren collapsed on the ground in front of him. Eren immediately crawled into the room, pushed himself up off of the ground and wrapped his arms around Levi. Again he started to sob, unable to ignore the intense wave of emotion flowing out of Levi. Still, Eren had _no_ idea what happened to Levi years ago, and for the first time he almost didn’t want to know.

“Levi, I didn’t cheat,” Eren sobbed, hoping to get his message across to Levi one last time. He’d been on the ground sobbing over him for thirty minutes, and if Levi didn’t believe him at this point there might not be anything that Eren could do. He wouldn't give up though. He'd  _never_ give up. “And I don’t care if I have to spend the rest of my life proving it to you because guess what? I’m still not leaving you.”

Levi clenched his fists at his side, shaking with some emotion he couldn’t quite name. He said nothing. He _couldn’t_ say anything. His jaw felt like it was wired shut.

“Accept it,” Eren demanded into Levi’s chest. “Accept that I’m not going to leave you. Threaten to kill me all you want; I’ll stay right here.”

“Fuck you,” Levi responded in a broken, weak voice.

“Whatever. If you have nothing else to say, can we please go home?”

Levi stared at Eren as though he’d grown another head, feeling another wave of rage threaten to overtake him. Who the _fuck_ did Eren think he was? Did he think he was going home with him?! _**Really?!**_ Levi wasn’t taking this cheating whore _anywhere!_ Eren could go and die in an inferno for all he cared! Eren meant _nothing_ to him!! He was just like everyone else! Eren was selfish and only wanted to hurt him! Eren enjoyed seeing him upset like this! Eren –

“Let’s go,” Eren whispered fondly, cupping Levi’s cheeks and wiping away at tears that had gathered under Levi’s eyes once again. “Okay? Together.”

Levi hesitated, trying to run through the entire list of excuses in his head again, but it was futile.

Eren . . . had finally won.

“Fine. . . ” Levi finally acquiesced and he stiffened when Eren smiled at him. Eventually the rage went away, and Levi was left numb once more. Eren continued to smile warmly at him before leaving to shut down the computer and grab his car keys. Levi could feel himself being pushed out of the office and due to how empty it was he knew it was late. The nagging voice in the back of his head that usually bothered him about his timing wasn’t there. He felt like he’d been anesthetized but somehow he was still moving, coaxed along by Eren’s gentle nudges.

“I’ll drive you home,” Eren said softly. “You can take a nap and I’ll go out and get some stuff to make you some soup . . . okay?”

“Eren,” Levi whimpered quietly, and Eren stopped to survey Levi and make sure he was still okay. Well, okay as in conscious. Levi was definitely _not_ okay.

“Yes?”

“I love you . . .”

The confession had been whispered so quietly that Eren almost didn’t hear it, but he smiled and cupped Levi’s face to bring him down to his level for a kiss.

“Yeah, I love you too.”

However, Levi collapsed in his arms and took them both down to the floor and Eren stayed perfectly still and quiet as Levi sobbed against him. The only thing he could do was stroke Levi’s back lovingly and tell him that it was going to be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :'(


	19. Chapter 19

Levi ended up telling Eren almost everything and it had taken most of the night. He told Eren about how he’d grown up in the slums with a prostitute for a mother who brought clients home that weren’t very kind to either of them, and then she left one day and never returned. He was found and taken in by a fucked up uncle who'd also eventually also abandoned him at thirteen. Then he’d moved around from house to house, just trying to stay alive, but he'd always end up doing something wrong, resulting in him getting kicked out by whatever girl was letting him stay. Thankfully he was able to attend school regularly enough to not get kicked out, but the school he’d gone to was a shitty ghetto school that didn’t take attendance regularly and passed him even though most of his grades were failing. Then he made two friends who he’d been tricked into leaving alone and unguarded, which resulted in their violent, tragic death. He eventually fell into foster care at sixteen. Levi omitted many graphic details that he still didn’t feel like sharing but felt that Eren understood just by the tone of his voice.

Luckily, he’d gotten off rather easily when it came to going to college, and the only reason he went was because he could practically go for free. Besides, he figured that if he didn't do _something_ with his life, he'd eventually end up dead on the streets somewhere. With not a cent to his name he’d been able to attend a decent college, and that was where he meant Erwin and Hange. Then he furthered his education, started a business with Erwin, and finished the story quickly enough and thankfully to Eren’s satisfaction.

Eren hadn’t pressed for more once Levi was finished, because the man had struggled _so_ much with telling him his backstory, taking long pauses and trying not to throw up whilst having vivid flashbacks. Actually, Levi admitted more than Eren thought he would, but that was only because Eren was able to put two and two together. For example, Levi had grown up in dirty, filthy housing, and that was why he couldn’t stand messes. Levi had grown up without having anything that belonged to him, and that was why he was so greedy. Levi was so controlling because he was always at the mercy of others as a child. To Eren, it almost seemed as though Levi was completely a product of his past. Almost every single one of his weird behaviors could be attributed to something that had happened to him.

“You've accomplished a lot and you have a lot to be proud of . . .” Eren said calmly, hoping that Levi would listen to him. “And Levi, the things that happened to you in your past weren’t your fault. You were innocent. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t ever have to take responsibility for when things go wrong and they _are_ your fault, but I want you to know that you can’t blame yourself for things that happened to you back then. Because deep down inside, hidden beneath your ego, I know you do.”

Levi hadn’t shown Eren a shred of emotion ever since they’d arrived back at his apartment hours ago and he couldn’t be bothered to now. He needed more sleep. Also, Eren was spitting so much truth to him _about_ him that it was starting to make Levi uncomfortable. Eren was right – he _did_ blame himself entirely for what had happened back then, and because he couldn’t live with the guilt, he’d adopted a completely different attitude towards blame. Nowadays, _nothing_ was his fault . . . or at least, that’s what he liked to believe because that made him feel better.

“You need to reach a healthy middle ground when it comes to whether or not you should accept responsibility for things that happen,” Eren explained. “It’s okay to make mistakes sometimes. And even if you are impulsive and struggle with considering the consequences of your actions, there’s nothing wrong with you. That’s just you and I still love you for it.”

Levi had stopped trying to disagree with Eren hours ago too. Eren had completely worn him down. He had no fight left in him, which was probably a good thing.

“So, do you feel better?” Eren asked hopefully.

Levi paused for a moment before nodding. “Yeah.”

“Good.”

“Can you . . .” Levi mumbled, trying not to get angry with himself at the heat rising to his cheeks. “Sit closer to me . . .?”

Eren’s eyes softened at the request. He’d been sitting on the opposite side of the bed so as to give Levi breathing room while he recounted everything. For some reason it had felt right to give him space rather than to suffocate him. But, if Levi wanted him to sit closer to him then that wasn’t a problem either.

“You don’t have to be afraid to ask,” Eren giggled, crawling over to Levi and curling up on his lap. “We should probably go to sleep now. It’s like five-thirty in the morning.”

“Great . . .”

“And you’re not going to work tomorrow,” Eren declared. “Neither of us are.”

“I’m fine.”

“No, you aren’t.”

Eren wasn’t unaware of Levi’s current state. He was sure he hadn’t heard one rise or fall in pitch within Levi’s voice since yesterday morning. It was clear that he was emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually drained and Eren felt comfortable with telling Levi that he wasn’t allowed to go to work. He didn’t care if Levi fussed at him for it either.

“Why?” Levi asked, and Eren couldn’t help but feel as though he was being tested.

“Because you’re not in the right headspace to work. You can work on your laptop for a couple of hours, but you need to recuperate. There’s nothing wrong with taking time off when you need it.”

“Bossy . . .”

Eren shrugged. “I know what I’m talking about.”

“I’m sorry for what I said earlier,” Levi added solemnly. “I probably hurt your feelings and I really am sorry. I . . . don’t want to kill you. I need you, Eren. And I’m sorry for accusing you of cheating on me. I won’t do it anymore. I’ll never do it again. I –

“Shh,” Eren said, running his fingers through Levi’s hair. “I accept your apology. Just go to sleep, okay?”

Levi did go to sleep then, finally no longer hesitating over whether or not he could trust Eren to stay with him. He still clung to Eren for dear life as they slept, but Eren didn’t mind and even clung back to Levi, thinking about everything that had happened today. What a shit fest it had all been. Eren almost felt like running to Hanji and asking them if they were aware of what they’d gotten him into, but it was obvious that Hanji probably had no idea Levi was holding onto something so serious and devastating. In fact, Eren was likely the only one in Levi’s circle of friends who knew any of that had happened to him. He would forever feel honored that Levi deemed him trustworthy enough to share such information with him, but Eren also hoped that this would be the last time they’d ever go through something like this.

He loved Levi and wanted to help him feel better, however Eren was only nineteen years old. If he had to go through this with Levi once a month, it would quickly become too much to handle. And while he couldn’t show it on his face during the conversation, some of that information had deeply disturbed him out of concern for Levi’s feelings. His friends had been killed, most likely in front of him from the way Levi had described it. Where did horrible things like that take place? Obviously people died everywhere and everyday, but Levi described death like Eren would describe a piece of furniture. Apparently, both deaths _and_ births where Levi was from went unreported and unnoticed all of the time. Levi could have easily died along with his friends that day and no one would be the wiser.

Eren couldn’t even fathom a place like that existing and Levi hadn’t told him where he was from, but Eren figured he could have come from some crime-ridden city in Michigan since it wasn’t too far from where they currently resided. It was probably wrong of him to guess that Levi came from a Detroit-like city just based on the stories he told, because Eren knew nothing about Detroit other than stories he’d heard on TV about it.

Wow, he wondered if the world of GTA _actually_ existed in real life . . . and then he cursed himself for that thought. What idiot thinks about video games after being threatened with death by their boyfriend who just went through a meltdown?

Either way, Eren just hoped that they could move past this. He tried not to dwell on most of what Levi told him too, because the more he thought about it, the more he feared Levi. For the next hour Eren tried to justify Levi’s words and behavior, putting himself in Levi’s shoes over and over again. Obviously Levi a problem with controlling his mouth, but how could he threaten to kill him _repeatedly_? And though he asked himself that question, he would continue to believe in Levi regardless. Plus, as Eren looked at Levi’s sleeping face, he could see nothing but innocence. Levi didn’t have the face of a murderer, and Eren had already established with himself that Levi was one of the most sensitive people he’d probably ever meet. Seeing him sleep so peacefully and feeling Levi clutch on to him as if he was going to vanish just made Eren feel sorry for him. What a cruel and lonely upbringing Levi had suffered through. Everyone he’d come to know and love either abandoned him or was killed. And as far as Levi knew, he had no existing family members left. He had no family to wish him a Happy Birthday, no mother to call on Mother’s Day, no father to call on Father’s Day, and while Levi probably got along just fine with the friends he had at work, Eren couldn’t imagine not being surrounded by family and friends, _especially_ on Christmas.

Oh, that was right. Levi’s _birthday_ was on Christmas. That had to be a double heartbreak to suffer through . . . When Eren felt himself start to cry he bit his lip and breathed, not wanting to wake Levi up from his peaceful slumber. This was probably one of the first times he’d ever slept so peacefully and Eren didn’t want to ruin it. Eventually he too fell asleep around six o’clock in the morning, trying not to dwell on how much he probably just ruined his sleeping schedule . . .

* * *

Levi woke up around one o’clock in the afternoon the next day, and immediately panic coursed through his veins. It wasn’t the “where’s Eren?” type of panic, but the “oh shit, neither of us called into work” type of panic. It was already so late and he had _so_ much to do. He really needed to finish that resolution he’d started drafting up, and he would have finished it yesterday had it not been for the mental breakdown he’d gone through. Thankfully, Levi felt much better now after an almost ten-hour long sleep. Years ago he would have been lucky to sleep ten hours in a whole _week,_ so he was pretty proud of himself for being able to sleep that many hours in one night. Although it was convenient to be able to run on two hours of sleep a day, it wasn’t good for anyone’s health, and Levi didn’t want to die any time soon because of Eren.

He couldn’t believe this little brat was _still_ here, putting up with his bullshit. His broken ass deserved to be left in a ditch to die but somehow Eren was able to have enough empathy and understanding for him to stick around. But, Levi knew that he no longer had to entertain any ideas of Eren getting sick and tired of him and leaving him, or divulging any of his secrets to anyone, _or_ being disgusted by him for his past. Eren was in this for the long haul and Levi had never felt so grateful. Somehow, Eren truly did love him.

Levi would do better too. He’d promised himself this last night, but he was going to try harder to make Eren happy. That would mean taking the time to think of ways to express his love for Eren _without_ spending money on him. Material items were fine and all, but Levi had the impression that Eren would appreciate anything from him as long as Levi had taken the time out of his day to put it together. While it still made Levi’s skin crawl to consider doing something romantic with Eren – after all, long walks on the beach, boat rides together, sightseeing, rollercoasters, etc., were just _not_ Levi’s cup of Earl Grey tea – but if it would make Eren happy, there was no way that it wouldn’t also make Levi happy too.

He had long forgotten to call into work by now, too busy staring at Eren’s adorable sleeping face. His lips were slightly parted and chapped to hell, but Levi still longed to kiss them. It would have been nicer of him to let Eren sleep, but he wanted Eren to wake up. He wanted to talk to him and hear his voice. It was lonely just laying here and looking at him, however it wasn’t as if Levi didn’t enjoy looking at Eren. He could _definitely_ stare at Eren all day long, but staring at Eren was always more enjoyable when Eren was talking and smiling at him.

“Wake up,” Levi demanded, shaking Eren’s shoulder.

Slowly Eren came to, groaning as the sunlight damn near blinded him. But the fact that the sun was so bright had to mean that it was some time in the afternoon, and Eren supposed it was better to get up now rather than later . . . he was still really tired though.

“Mmm Levi . . .” he murmured. “You couldn’t let me sleep some more?”

“No.”

“Asshole . . .”

“I wanted to hear your voice . . .”

Eren was wide awake now, pulling Levi’s face to his chest and squeezing him to death. “Aww! Luckily for you, I can talk for hours!”

Levi didn’t respond and instead inhaled the scent that was coming off of Eren’s skin. It shouldn’t be normal for someone to smell _this_ good in the morning. It had probably been over twenty-four hours since Eren showered, but Levi had never been so entranced by Eren’s smell. Without even thinking about it Levi began to lick along Eren’s chest, eliciting a small gasp from Eren in return. His skin tasted slightly salty as though he’d been sweating, and had this been anyone else, Levi would have been absolutely repulsed. But because it was Eren, it was okay.

He latched on to one of Eren’s perfectly sized and round brown nipples, trying to control his fluttering heart when Eren sighed softly and ran his fingers through his hair. People touching his hair was something else that got on his nerves (or people touching him in general) but when Eren did it, everything felt okay. Eventually he switched to the other one and Eren had relaxed onto the mattress, panting softly as Levi worried one of the pebbled buds between his teeth. It gave Eren goosebumps to feel the cold air in the apartment on the parts of his skin that weren’t occupied by Levi’s mouth or hands. It felt so good that it almost put him back to sleep, and while Levi had been gentle with him during sex so far, these feather-like touches were like nothing he’d ever experienced. Maybe Levi was still tired from having just woken up, but Eren wanted more.

He vocalized his desires and Levi quickly took the hint, flipping Eren onto his stomach and pulling him onto his knees. Starting with the back of his neck, Levi delicately kissed and licked his way down Eren’s spine. Levi struggled with where to put his hands, unsure of as to what he wanted to touch more. It was a toss up between Eren’s shapely legs and hips, slim waist, and toned chest. He knew he had a lifetime to touch Eren, but he’d never felt such a strong desire to feel all of Eren’s body at the same time.

“Levi,” Eren breathed quietly, glancing at him nervously over his shoulder. “Don’t . . .”

At this point Levi’s mouth was, in Eren’s opinion, dangerously close to his butt and the puffs of hot air against him made him want to seize up and melt into a puddle.

“Why.”

Eren couldn’t believe how offended Levi looked and sounded.

“I don’t know,” Eren mumbled. “I’m nervous.”

“Tch. It won’t hurt.”

“I haven’t showered . . .”

“I know,” Levi said, already proceeding spreading Eren’s cheeks apart to feast his eyes on that beautiful, tight, pink hole that took him so well. “And I don’t care.”

Instead of arguing Eren just hid his face in the pillow and tried not to jerk away when he felt Levi’s tongue connect with his asshole. The embarrassment Eren felt now trumped any embarrassment he’d ever experienced in his entire life. To know that it was Levi back there doing this to him made Eren want to pass out. And God, _why_ did it feel so good? Already Eren could feel himself leaning back further onto Levi’s face seeking more stimulation. It made him feel ashamed. Unfortunately Levi wasn’t letting him get away with hiding in the pillow because Eren could suddenly feel it being ripped out from under his face.

“S-so cruel . . .” Eren moaned, though his voice held no malice.

The sensation of Levi’s tongue on his most sensitive parts rendered him unable to feel anything besides pure, raw pleasure. He’d thought this was just a porn thing, and that no one ever really did this in real life because it was kind of gross. Sucking someone’s dick was a different story, but this? This was different. And Eren had been prepared to _never_ allow someone to go down on him in this regard, but ten seconds in and he’d changed his mind really quick.

“Levi . . .” Eren gasped, feeling his tongue probing into him and eventually sliding in.

Then Levi’s thumbs were suddenly pressing into him as well and Eren lost it, moaning loudly and reaching back to jerk Levi’s face closer to him. His other hand was dying to stroke himself to orgasm because he was so close at this point, but he was already struggling to hold himself upright. Toes curling and eyes screwed shut, Eren begged for more as Levi sucked and kissed and licked all around Eren’s hole. Levi probably spent fifteen minutes eating Eren out, listening to those moans, and it was the first fifteen minutes he’d _ever_ spent doing something like this. It felt cliché to say it again, but only with Eren would he ever do this. And it definitely wasn’t half bad. Reducing Eren into a wanton, begging, moaning mess was a sight so erotic it made his blood boil. He was itching to jack himself off too, but he wasn’t letting Eren’s now loosened, sloppy, glistening orifice go to waste.

Levi was fucking going _in_ and although Eren looked completely spent by the time he finally pulled away, that was just too bad. He sheathed himself within Eren in the harshest manner he could, and Eren whimpered happily at being filled. Looking down at his hips pressed fluidly against Eren’s ass made him want to howl at the moon like some animal.

“Fuck . . .” Levi groaned, unable to stop staring at Eren’s perfectly rounded ass.

Eren sassily wriggled his hips in response. “You like?”

“Obviously,” Levi growled lowly, pulling out and slamming back in without waiting any longer.

The pace he set was vicious, mercilessly pulling and pushing Eren off of himself whilst working his hips at the same time.

“Fuck Levi!” Eren screamed, head thrown back and eyes teary with pleasure. He was disturbed at how much he liked this, crying out Levi’s name as the man brutally slammed in and out of him with wild abandon. The grip on his hips was most definitely going to leave bruises, but maybe Eren liked it rough, because the thought of physical evidence from sex being left on his body only aroused him all the more.

Levi then surreptitiously reached underneath Eren to grab his untouched, leaking member, and to his surprise, his mere touch caused Eren to orgasm in that instant.

The brunette whined pathetically, clenching violently around Levi and panting harshly.

“Sorry,” Eren squeaked breathlessly, but that only made Levi fuck him even harder.

“Fuck!” Levi screamed, continuing his brutal assault against Eren. It was definitely criminal how much Levi got off on Eren’s innocence. _Apologizing_ for orgasming? Eren was just  _asking_ for it, and while Levi wanted to taint his lover's purity to a point of no return, he knew that no matter how hard and fast he drove into Eren’s tight heat that he never could.

“H-harder . . .” Eren moaned, having recovered from his first orgasm. Again that familiar heat was building up in the pit of his stomach, stretching tighter and tighter like a rubber band threatening to snap. It should have been impossible but Levi managed to make good on the request, and soon Eren was involved a battle of the fittest. Who could be louder: himself, or the bedframe crashing against the wall? Eren was pretty sure he was winning, as Levi was doing everything he could to ensure Eren’s throat would be raw by the time this was over. Not even Levi could control his own moans at this point, and he understood _exactly_ why he couldn’t.

Eren’s tight ass and arousing, sonorous voice was triggering the hell out of him and with only a few more powerful thrusts, he came undone, groaning loudly as every muscle in his body contracted. Levi should have been embarrassed by how much he came, because within seconds Eren was overflowing with white trails of cum trickling down his legs. Poor Eren too was trembling with the aftereffects of having two orgasms so close together and he didn’t think he’d ever get used to this feeling. He could only describe it as electricity running through his body, forcing him to remain rigid as he tried to collect himself.

With numb limbs Eren moved over to a clean spot of the bed and collapsed, ready to fall asleep again. Levi let him go too, momentarily watching Eren through hazy eyes. He needed to take a shower . . . and he was fucking hungry too. Deciding that he could probably be showered and back with food before Eren woke up, Levi stood and walked to the bathroom, totally aware of the fact his legs were struggling to take him there . . .

* * *

By the time Levi returned home with the food, Eren was indeed still asleep in the bed, but had migrated to an entirely new position. He was now on his stomach, head underneath a pillow and one arm hanging off the mattress. It was definitely a strange way to sleep, (because how could one even breathe underneath a pillow?) though totally endearing at the same time.

“Eren,” Levi said, shaking Eren awake for the second time today.

“Ugh, what?!” Eren snapped, still buried underneath the pillow.

“I’ve got food.”

Eren was suspicious. “What kind of food . . . ?”

“You’re favorite.”

“PIZZA!!!”

Levi would get jealous over Eren getting _this_ excited over food later, because for now, he was starving and just wanted to eat.

“I wish you would have woken me up before you left,” Eren said after swallowing a bite of pizza that was so large it hurt his throat. “I could have showered and changed the sheets.”

“We’re _eating_ on the sheets,” Levi explained. “I’ll change them after this.”

“No, _I’ll_ change them. I told you I’d let you get some work done and it’s already close to four-thirty.”

When Levi didn’t say anything and Eren figured he’d approved, he continued talking, but made sure to eat as he did. Eren certainly couldn’t resist eating pizza if it was right in front of him.

“Also, I’ve been thinking, and you really need to meet my parents.”

Levi looked away for a moment before nodding. “Yeah . . .”

“Nervous?” Eren asked, unable to keep from smiling.

“Of course. I’ve never met anyone’s parents under these circumstances. They’re probably not going to like me.”

“Well –

“But I don’t give a shit if they don’t. You’re mine.”

Eren felt his heart skip a beat at Levi’s words and he blushed lightly. “Even if you get the impression that they don’t like you, I promise they’ll come around.”

Even though Levi acted indifferent towards Eren’s parents’ opinion, he really _did_ want their approval. It would make things easier, although unfortunately . . . he hadn’t been able to impress _anybody’s_ parents, no matter what situations he met them in. Erwin’s parents hated him, Hange’s parents thought he was a lunatic (which was ironic considering what kind of child they raised), and if Eren’s parents also found something wrong with him, he wouldn’t know what to do.

Besides . . . Levi wanted to fit in.

He _wanted_ to be invited over for holidays. He _wanted_ to take part in whatever festivities they celebrated. He’d never experienced anything like that because he didn’t want to intrude on Erwin or Hange’s family celebrations if he wasn’t wanted. And if Erwin or Hange offered to celebrate with him, he always denied the invitation. If someone had family, they should enjoy celebrating with just those people. A person only got one family after all, and as someone who didn’t have any family, Levi felt like he could offer a wise opinion on the subject matter.

“Go get some work done,” Eren ordered suddenly.

Levi scowled. “So eager to get rid of me?”

“No, but I don’t want you to worry about it any longer. I know you want to go do it and I want you to go and do it,” Eren said and smiled. “Go and work until eight o’clock and then come back and we can watch a movie together, kay?”

Levi couldn’t believe he was getting up and going into his office to do _exactly_ what Eren said. All his life he’d done whatever he wanted to. No one told Levi what to do: _no one_. In fact, when someone else told him what to do he usually liked to do the opposite just to be difficult and to spite the other person.

However here he was, allowing a nineteen-year-old to dictate how he spent his time and loving every minute of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter sucks :'( I've edited it a million times and somehow I'm STILL dissatisfied with it. I feel like it has tons of spelling errors, but if I read over it anymore I'm going to lose my mind lol


	20. Chapter 20

A couple of weeks had passed and it was nearing the end of July. The internship would end at that time and Eren would be free to enjoy the rest of his summer, which he planned to spend mostly at Levi’s apartment. He would have to do so under the guise of hanging out with Armin though, because Levi still hadn’t met his parents due to scheduling conflicts and Eren was beginning to think that the first time his parents would ever hear of Levi would be when they were receiving an invitation to their wedding.

Eren had also given Armin the skinny on the whole situation that went down two weeks ago (without giving him enough information about Levi in order to respect his boyfriend’s privacy) and Armin gave him permission to slap Erwin across the face. Eren had _really_ enjoyed that moment too. They were all laughing about it until Levi attempted to strangle Erwin to death as the memories of what happened resurfaced, and that had pretty much killed the mood and they all ended up going back to work. Eventually Eren had to be the one to get Levi and Erwin to be friends again since Levi was going into work everyday pretending as though Erwin didn’t exist. While Eren was still _pretty_ pissed at Erwin, he’d felt bad for the man and helped him mend his friendship with Levi.

Hanji was immensely proud of him for that, even though Eren didn’t think that what he’d done was all that special. He explained to Hanji that Levi and Erwin had fifteen years of friendship under their belts and that even without his help, they would have eventually rekindled their friendship. No one would let that long of a friendship die, right? Besides, they were co-CEOs! They couldn’t continue to run a business while hating each other. However, Hanji wouldn’t let him have it, insisting that without his help, Levi would have _never_ forgiven Erwin. Eren quit arguing after that, but he later came to accept it as fact. Levi most likely _was_ the type to hold grudges and Eren didn’t want to underestimate his ability to do so.

Lastly, Jean had written Levi a two-thousand-word essay about why he would _never_ be attracted to Eren, thinking that that would be a good way to earn Levi’s trust back, but Levi just ripped up the paper in Jean’s face without reading it and told him to never speak of the incident again. Eren also had a chance to proof read the two-thousand-word roast about himself, and it was actually a pretty well constructed essay. Of course, he lied and told Jean it was shit because regardless of  _how_ good an essay was, if it was talking shit about him there was no _way_ Eren would admit out loud that it was actually a masterpiece!

In the end, everything went back to normal. Currently Eren was at home doing what he did best. Mikasa sat beside him, interested in watching the video games being played, but not coordinated enough to play them herself. However, she didn’t mind watching Eren and even found it relaxing.

“Eren, your phone just went off,” she said, feeling as though she was interrupting the master at work.

“’Kas, can’t you see I’m busy?” Eren asked, eyes glued to the screen.

“It’s from Le-

“Gimme that!”

He snatched the phone away from her so fast someone would have thought it was worth a billion dollars. And Eren normally wasn’t so rude, but unfortunately, he and Levi had developed a bad habit of taking their sexual frustrations out via text and that was the _last_ thing Eren wanted Mikasa to see. She’d probably call the police if she read what they texted each other.

 **Levi:** _Will your parents be home Saturday? I can stop by and meet them._

“Mikasa!” Eren gasped. “Will Mom and Dad be home this Saturday?!”

She nodded. “Yes. Jeez Eren, they’re your parents too. You should know.”

“They don’t ever talk to me about stuff like that,” Eren refuted and texted Levi back.

 **Eren:** _Yes! Can u come at 12??_

 **Levi:** _That’s fine._

“Yesss,” Eren said happily. “Levi is _finally_ coming over to meet Mom and Dad.”

“It’s about time.”

“Yeah, and it’s about time _you_ introduce Annie to Mom and Dad.”

Mikasa shrugged. “I know. But I’m scared. Now neither of them will get grandkids . . .”

“Can’t you or Annie get pregnant?” Eren asked, though the way he asked the question made it seem like he didn’t know how that sort of stuff worked. “. . . Right?”

His sister sighed at his confusion but smiled nonetheless. “Yes Eren. But I know _I_ don’t want to have a baby and I don’t know how Annie feels about it. We haven’t discussed any of that stuff yet and we’re not going to for a long time.”

“Why don’t you want to have a baby?”

“I don’t really like kids.”

“Yeah, kids are fucking annoying,” Eren mused. “But sometimes I kind of want to be responsible for another human . . .”

“You already have a thirty-five-year-old human to be responsible for. Plus, if Mom and Dad don’t even think you’re ready to have a cat, what makes you think you can raise a child?”

“Did they seriously tell you that they don’t trust me with a cat?! What would I do?! Love it to death??”

Mikasa shrugged, trying not to laugh at Eren’s miffed expression. “Maybe. You might forget to feed it or something.”

 _“You’re_ the one who drinks up all of the milk and soda and puts the empty containers back into the fridge and says, “I forgot to throw them away”! If _that’s_ not forgetful then I don’t know what is!”

“Yeah, that’s a bad habit,” Mikasa admitted.

“You also don’t close the cabinets all the way either and that annoys me soooo bad,” Eren groaned. “I could go on and on about your irresponsibleness.”

“Work with me and not against me. Also, I’m older than you, so I’m more responsible by default.”

“You’re older than me by like . . . uh . . .” Eren paused, desperately trying to do the math and Mikasa shook her head before standing up.

“So you have no problem counting through the hundreds of dollars you make a day selling cocaine in that game, but you can’t even figure how many days I’m older than you by? Levi would be disappointed.”

“Oh whatever!” Eren whined at her retreating back. “Why don’t you just go drink up all the milk and put the empty container back in the fridge for me to find?!”

* * *

Eren prepared his parents in advance for what was to come on Saturday. He wasn’t surprised that they were shocked at all – he’d never mentioned or even hinted at having a boyfriend all this time. In fact, his father hadn’t even known he was gay, and that _really_ surprised Eren.

“Whaaaat??” Eren asked, shaking his head in disbelief. “What straight guy shaves their legs?!”

“I don’t know,” his father answered nonchalantly. “Kids are always following new trends nowadays. Figured that was one of them.”

“We’re so happy for you, honey,” his mother said, smiling fondly at Eren. “We love you no matter what.”

Still looking absolutely dumbfounded, Eren shrugged. “Thanks . . .”

“So his name is Levi?” she continued.

“Yeah, he’s the guy I work for.”

“What?!” his father yelled. “How old is he??”

“Twenty . . . five.”

The older man narrowed his eyes. “Eren . . .”

“Twenty-nine.”

_“Eren.”_

“Thirty-four . . .”

“No Eren,” was his father’s immediate response. “No. That’s too big of an age gap. I won’t allow it.”

“At least meet him first!” Eren cried, hearing his phone buzz on the table. “Look he’s here! Please don’t bully him, okay? He’s really nervous about meeting you both and he’s shy . . .”

“Mikasa,” Carla said seriously, watching Eren leave the kitchen and head to the living room. While she trusted Eren’s judgment, she was still concerned for his well-being and even though she hadn’t reacted outwardly to hearing Levi’s age, it still surprised her. “Have you met him?”

“Yeah. He’s alright.”

“Well that’s good.”

“Alright?” her husband asked, shaking his head. “That’s not good enough for me. I’m not entertaining this relationship anyways, but if he’s just ‘alright’ then I really don’t even want him in the house.”

Carla sighed. “We have to give him a chance.”

“I’ll give him a chance but I’m still not considering it.”

“Why not? He might be very good for Eren.”

“No, he’ll die early and leave Eren a widow.”

“Grisha, don’t say that . . .”

During her parent’s bickering Mikasa also left the dining room and went to the front door. Unfortunately, the sight she found was very disturbing.

“Mom and –

“AHH!!” Eren screamed, jerking away from Levi and looking at her like a deer in headlights. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

Mikasa narrowed her eyes. “Don’t make out in the entryway.”

Eren apologized and  _swore_ that it would never happen again, and although Mikasa didn’t think this would be the last time she ever stumbled upon Eren and Levi making out, she ignored that thought and headed back into the dining room with them following closely behind her. She sat down at the table followed by Levi who sat on her right and Eren who sat beside him. Though this technically didn’t have anything to do with her, she was interested in seeing how her parents reacted to Levi. Really, Mikasa was indifferent to whether or not they liked Levi, because she knew that Eren was going to date whoever he wanted at the end of the day. However, she could at least take notes on how to properly introduce a lover to her parents.

She had a feeling that this wasn’t going to go well though.

“Levi,” Grisha said, inhaling and exhaling deeply as though he was going to say something extremely meaningful and philosophic. “I don’t like you.”

“Why?!” Eren asked. “Levi hasn’t even said anything yet!”

“He doesn’t mean that,” Carla explained, hitting her husband on the shoulder and giving him the ‘look’ wives often give their husbands to shut them up. “So Levi, you and Eren met at work?”

“Yes,” Levi answered emotionlessly.

“I see. So am I right to assume that when Eren is hanging out with Armin every weekend he’s actually at your home?”

“Yes,” Levi answered again, hoping to at least impress Eren’s parents with his honesty.

“Eren!” Grisha yelled, appearing totally betrayed. “How _could_ you?? You just lied to us and without remorse too!”

“No, I felt remorse,” Eren explained. “But I couldn’t tell you the truth. If you knew, you wouldn’t have let me go!”

“Levi,” Carla continued, ignoring her husband and Eren for the time being. “Where did you grow up?”

“Uh –

“Here,” Eren answered. “And he was an economics major in school like I am.”

“Interesting! Levi, has Eren met your parents yet?”

Again, Eren answered. “They don’t live around here and they don’t come to visit often. I haven’t seen them.”

“Why aren’t you letting him answer?” Grisha asked suspiciously. “Is there a secret about him that you don’t want us to know?”

“No Dad!”

“Then let him answer the questions, Eren! Levi, do you always allow my son to boss you around like this?!”

Levi was shocked at how animated Eren’s mother and father were. It honestly made sense given how excitable and boisterous Eren was, but there was a noticeably stark contrast between them and Mikasa. Levi could obviously tell that she was adopted, but the way she was sitting there staring blankly at the family seemed to confirm it.

“Levi, what are your intentions with my son?” Grisha asked and then narrowed his eyes at Eren. “And don’t answer for him this time, Eren!”

“Marriage,” Levi said. Not only should he probably be honest, but he should also keep his responses short and to the point. The more he talked, the further he’d start to dig himself into a hole. He had a knack for pissing people’s parents off and already Eren’s father seemed to dislike him. If this were a meeting with a client, Levi would just be sitting quietly and allowing Erwin to do all of the talking. However, he had to handle this one on his own.

Grisha’s eyes widened as if he didn’t believe Levi’s response. “Marriage?! To _Eren?!_ You can’t be serious!”

“Why can’t he be serious?!” Eren asked. “What’s wrong with me?!”

“Well, you’re fifteen years younger than he is for one thing!”

“I think it’s great that you plan to marry Eren, Levi,” Carla said gently. “It’s comforting to know that you’re serious about him.”

“Thanks . . .” Levi said awkwardly, and then carefully added, “I have a good job so I can take good care of him.”

“I don’t doubt it. I’m sure the company you run is very successful,” Carla mused and then giggled. “Forgive me, but what does A&E stand for?”

“Ackerman and Erwin. I preferred to use my last name when naming the company . . .”

Levi hadn’t understood what he’d done wrong because all of a sudden Eren’s parents froze and stared at him as though he’d grown another head.

“Your last name is Ackerman?” Grisha asked slowly.

"Yeah."

 _“Oh_ . . . well, it was nice meeting you, Levi.”

“What?!” Eren screamed. “That’s it?! Why??”

Eren watched as his father stood up and mumbled something about needing to take a nap before walking away. His mother looked equally perturbed, staring at the three of them in shock. She opened her mouth as if she was going to say something before also standing up and turning her back on the three of them.

“Sorry. I need to talk to your father . . . it really was a pleasure to meet you, Levi.”

Mikasa sat mystified at her parent’s reaction and tuned out Eren as he ranted about how he didn’t give a rat’s ass what they thought. She hadn’t expected her parents to be thrilled about Levi, however something was definitely strange. Eren might not have noticed it, but Mikasa could see her parents seize up at finding out Levi’s last name. She wondered what was so upsetting about it. After all, it was just a name, right?

“Why does your last name upset them?” Mikasa asked.

“How should I know?” Levi asked back.

“Hmm . . .”

“They suck,” Eren groaned, standing up and pulling Levi to his feet. “Let’s go, Levi. I want to hang out at your place. Mikasa, tell them I went to Armin’s.”

“They’re not going to believe that little lie anymore,” Levi chuckled, following Eren out of the home.

Mikasa hung around the table for a moment thinking before heading upstairs, wondering whether or not her parents would be willing to talk to her about their strange behavior. Because no matter how one looked at it, it _was_ strange.

“I think he knows.”

The voice momentarily stopped her in her tracks. Slowly, she began creeping forward as silently as possible, padding across the carpeted floor until she was right outside of her parents door. Stealthily, Mikasa pressed her ear against the cool wood and listened as carefully as she could. It wasn’t her intention to spy, but she _had_ to know what they were talking about.

“There’s no way he knows,” her mother sighed. “He looked just as confused as we did.”

“How could he _not_ know??” her father asked angrily.

“Maybe it’s just a mistake . . .”

“Okay, who’s mistaken? Is Levi mistaken about _his_ last name or are we mistaken about Mikasa’s last name??”

“Then it’s just a coincidence!”

“A coincidence that they share the same last name?? I don’t think so, Carla!”

“But Eren said Levi grew up here! Mikasa came from an orphanage three states over!”

“Eren probably lied! He obviously has no qualms about lying since he’s been lying to us for the past two months about where he’s been going on the weekends!”

“It’s just too early to make assumptions, Grisha! Besides, Levi’s only thirty-four!”

“You can procreate at fifteen, Carla! Don’t be daft!”

Mikasa gasped, immediately backing away from the door and returning to her room. She tried not to slam her door behind her so that she didn't make it seem like she ran to her room hastily, however she didn’t have control over her limbs anymore. Feeling numb all over, she sank to the floor in confusion and stared at the wall across from her. She wished she’d _never_ heard that conversation, and she cursed herself because she _knew_ that she was going to hear something shocking if she eavesdropped on her parents. She hadn’t expected to hear . . . _that_ though. All her life her parents had told her that her mother dropped her off at an orphanage when she was only a few weeks old and that the father was nowhere to be found. As far as Mikasa knew, her real parents wanted nothing to do with her, meaning that she had no real blood-related family members. That fact hadn’t bothered her until now. Could she have a family member? Was her last name Ackerman? Could Levi be related to her? Did the age gap between them really permit him to be . . . ?

A lump developed in her throat that she couldn’t swallow and she grabbed a bottle of water that had been sitting on her nightstand and greedily drank from it. She felt sick and her heart was racing uncomfortably in her chest.

 _Calm down_ , she thought to herself, breathing deeply through her nose for the next few moments. _Calm down. It’s fine . . ._

Eventually she _was_ calm and ended up being calm enough to regain her composure and control over her limbs. Grabbing her keys, she too decided to ‘go to Armin’s house’ which was the excuse she also used to go see her lover. Right now she just wanted to talk to somebody that she knew was willing to listen to her. She couldn’t decide whether or not she was bothered by what she thought her parents were insinuating. On the one hand, it didn’t really matter: the people who’d raised her were her parents and that was all there was too it. But on the other hand, it _did_ matter, because if she and Levi were somehow related, that could mean that she had a living family member.

She . . . _really_ wanted to know now . . . Hopefully Levi would want to know too . . .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooooooh what have I done? xD


	21. Chapter 21

Eren couldn’t believe that it was all over. Crying on Hanji’s shoulder wasn’t part of his plan, and Hanji also crying on _his_ shoulder wasn’t part of the plan either. Hanji was telling him through sobs that it was okay for him to come and visit them any time he wanted, and Eren promised in return that he would. Working with Hanji had been an eye-opening experience for him. He was now confident that he wanted to change his major to human resources. It wasn’t too late since he was only in his first year of college, and he could always minor in economics so that the classes he’d already taken didn’t go to waste. Eren was also relieved to know that if he wanted to work here once he graduated, there would be a place for him in human resources right beside Hanji.

In fact, he probably owed the rest of his working life to them. Hanji had been the one to set him up with Levi after all (even though he and Levi could both _clearly_ be a pain in each other’s ass sometimes). And in just the two and a half months he’d come to know them, Hanji had become a second mother/father/whatever the hell Hanji was to him. And no matter what, Eren wouldn’t let their friendship die.

“Remember,” Hanji mumbled, sniffling loudly in Eren’s ear. “You’re welcome to come and talk to Hange whenever Grumpy pisses you off. Grumpy, know that I extend the same courtesy to you.”

“Thanks,” Levi scoffed, rolling his eyes at the display. He was getting ready to pull Eren away so that the brunette would no longer feel compelled to keep crying. Watching tears roll down Eren’s face was starting to give him anxiety.

“I will, Hanji,” Eren promised. “I’ll start with what Levi did last night . . .”

“You’re _still_ upset over that? Give me a break.”

“What happened?” Hange asked curiously.

“Levi _laughed_ when a cat died in the movie we were watching!”

“First of all, I don’t laugh,” Levi corrected him. “I snickered. And the cat comes back to life so I don’t know why you’ve got your panties in a wad over it.”

Hange smiled and then laughed at Eren’s pouting face. “Levi, that’s mean.”

“He even tricked me!” Eren said. “I was like ‘geez Levi, _Pet Sematary?_ That sounds like a movie where animals die and I can’t _stand_ to watch animals die!’ and he said, ‘it’s not like that at all because the movie spells cemetery with an S, so it’s a different kind of cemetery and no animals die!’”

“I’m toughening you up. Be thankful.”

“Eren!” Hange cried. “Don’t let Grumpy get away with that!”

“Oh, he didn’t,” Eren said. “The next ten movies Levi gets to watch with me are romantic comedies. Isn’t that right?”

Levi hesitated to answer, eyes darting between Eren and Hange and begging one of them to say something and direct the conversation elsewhere. But they both waited patiently with knowing expressions on their faces that made Levi feel like a loser without him even saying anything.

Crossing his arms, he said, “If that’s what will make you happy then I guess I don’t have a choice. Now let’s go.”

Levi really didn’t want to stick around any longer because he knew Hange wouldn’t hesitate to start making fun of how whipped he was and he didn’t want to hear it. He knew it; they didn’t have to tell him!

Walking over to Eren, he grabbed his hand and started pulling him along but was stopped in his tracks as Hange held Eren’s other hand.

“Don’t leave me, Eren!” Hange cried.

“Let go,” Levi growled. “We’re leaving.”

“NEVER!”

Eren was caught in a pulling match between the two and he laughed awkwardly in pain as he was flung back and forth. Eventually he managed to convince Hanji to let go and they did regretfully, continuing to say goodbye to Eren and watching him get pulled out of the office. The scene might look disturbing to some since Levi was proudly stomping away and practically dragging Eren along. However, no one would be able to tell that Levi’s grip on his hand wasn’t bruising or rough at all. It was gentle and warm, and although firm, Eren knew he could pull his hand away any time he wanted.

He wouldn’t of course.

“So eager to get me home so that you can molest me?” Eren joked.

“No,” Levi said. “I need to talk to you about something serious.”

“Oh yeah? About what?”

“I’ll tell you when we get home.”

“But I wanna know now!”

“You’ll just have to be patient.”

“Leviiii!”

Levi looked over at Eren’s impatient-looking, pouty face and smirked. “You make the best faces.”

Eren made another irate-looking expression. “Do I?”

“Yeah. Makes me wanna bully you.”

“I’ve noticed.”

“Don’t get offended, brat,” Levi said, and pulled Eren to his side to wrap an arm around him. “It’s just how I show my love.”

“Ooh,” Eren cooed, wrapping his arms around Levi’s waist in return. “Where was _this_ Levi when Hanji was around?”

“Locked away and waiting patiently for his turn, I guess.”

“I see,” Eren chuckled. “Oh, it seems like this Levi is a _little_ handsy.”

“He might be,” Levi agreed, uncaring of who might be walking behind them as he aggressively fondled Eren’s ass. “Make sure you give him a lot of attention when we get home. He might be a little deprived.”

“I have a feeling that no matter how much attention I give him he’ll always be deprived.”

“You may be right about that.”

* * *

Once they returned to the apartment, Levi actually exhibited some self-control when Eren tried to jump him. It had been _really_ hard too, because Eren was all giggly and cute and clingy and Levi honestly wanted to throw him down and have his way with him, but he wouldn’t . . . at least, not yet. He really _did_ need to talk to Eren. Ignoring the urge to give in, he pulled Eren onto the couch to sit down and Eren immediately climbed into his lap. Levi could only count on one hand the amount of times Eren actually sat _on_ his couch instead of him, but he’d never complain.

“Comfortable?” Levi asked and Eren nodded in content. “Good. Tell me about school.”

Eren raised a confused brow. “About school?? Well, I go back the last week of August so we have a little less than two months together.”

“I see.”

“Why?”

Levi swallowed and at the way Eren stiffed in surprise he just knew that his brat could feel his heart rate increasing. Eren had an intentional habit of pressing his cheek directly over the left side of his chest so that he could know when he was getting nervous. And Levi didn’t know _why_ he was getting nervous because no matter what, he was going to say what he wanted to say. There was no backing out now.

“I’d like for you to stay here until school starts,” Levi said. He’d hoped to make it sound more like a suggestion rather than a demand, but in the end, he felt like his tone left no room for argument.

“I’d love to!”

 _Thank God_ , Levi thought, feeling his body relax at Eren’s words.

“But I have some conditions,” Eren continued.

“Fine. Name them.”

“We have to buy cookware and groceries. I’m not going to starve here while you’re at work all day. Second, I’m not staying here without my babies, so the Xbox and PS4 are coming with me. Thirdly . . . are you sure?”

“Am I sure?” Levi repeated. “Of course I’m sure. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Have you ever lived with anyone before?”

“No.”

“I thought so. You might not like living with me. Our lifestyles might clash.”

“As long as you clean up after yourself I don’t see what the problem would be.”

Eren sighed. “I know, but you’re going to get tired of seeing my face every day. I’m going to be annoying and clingy when all you’re going to want to do after work is come home and rest. Some days you’re going to come home and find Mikasa and Armin over here because they’re my best friends and I always want to see them. Sometimes we’re going to disagree about what to have for dinner and there are gonna be nights I get so pissed at you that I order you to sleep on the couch. Are you prepared for all of this?”

Levi was silent, considering everything that Eren said. He didn’t mind if Eren was clingy – by now he lived only for Eren’s attention, so the more Eren clung to him the happier he’d be. He also didn’t mind if Eren had Mikasa and Armin over, since he trusted the three of them not to tear his apartment to shreds. As far as arguing with Eren went, Levi didn’t see that happening too often, if at all. He’d already promised himself that he would try harder to be a partner worthy of Eren, and instead of antagonizing a bad situation, he would do his best to just apologize and let it go.

And getting tired of seeing Eren’s face? That would **never** happen.

“Everything is going to be fine,” Levi said, patting Eren on the head. “I want you here. Coming home from work every day and seeing you will make me happy.”

“Okay . . .” Eren said quietly, though it was evident by the blush on his face that he was extremely happy. “What about my parents? They still don’t like you.”

“Tch. Fuck them.”

Eren just laughed, not offended or surprised at all by Levi’s remark. “They’re probably gonna hire a hitman to kill me when they come home and realize all my shit is gone.”

Levi looked pensive for a moment before saying, “Tell me what I should do to make them like me.”

“I honestly don’t know. You’re so perfect and I don’t know why they can’t see it.”

“You are the perfect one in this relationship.”

“If you say so.”

“Don’t act like it isn’t true. Want me to prove it?”

“Nope!” Eren yelled and pressed his hand against Levi’s mouth. “I believe you, okay? Plus, you know it embarrasses me to hear you talk about my . . . _assets.”_

Levi acknowledged what Eren said and since his mouth was covered he allowed his hands to speak for him. Eren _did_ have some great assets, especially the one sitting on his lap. That was one of his favorites.

“Suppose that was my fault for using the word ‘assets’ huh?” Eren giggled, allowing Levi to strip him of his clothing.

“Don’t worry about it,” Levi said, picking Eren up like he weighed nothing and whisking him off to the bedroom. “I’ll make sure to play nicely with your assets.”

* * *

Make no mistake, Levi did _not_ regret asking Eren to move in with him for the time being. As expected, having Eren beside him when he woke up and beside him when we went to sleep was everything he’d hoped for. It felt nice to no longer come home to an empty apartment everyday and have nothing to do other than work. Not only that, but Eren was respectful enough to allow Levi space when he wanted it. Eren wasn’t clingy at all; in fact, Levi secretly wished he would be clingier. He didn’t think he’d ever get tired of Eren greeting him at the door and wrapping his arms around his neck and kissing him as though he hadn’t seen him in a year. And Eren’s cooking had Levi ready to go ring shopping. He never used to bother with eating three proper meals a day, but now all he could think about was the food Eren would cook for him. Not for anyone else, but for _him._ It wasn’t a secret that no one had ever really done anything to that extreme for Levi, so having Eren _want_ to prepare food for him was . . . really nice. Eren worried about his health and his wellbeing. He made sure he got enough sleep, he made sure he didn’t work too hard, and Eren always knew what to say to pacify him whenever he was in a bad mood. There was no other way to say it: Eren completed him.

 _But_ in addition to being as splendid as he was, Eren had taken over his bathroom.

And it was bad.

Though he was very hygienic, Levi was quite simplistic at the same time. He had soap, shampoo and conditioner, a toothbrush and toothpaste, mouthwash, and a razor to shave. Wasn’t that all a man needed in terms of bathroom toiletries? Not according to Eren. For some reason Eren used two different soaps (one was extra moisturizing because sometimes he needed more moisture than usual), and two different shampoos and conditioners (again for the same purpose). Eren had also informed Levi that there was a special type of soap that was to be used on the face. There were two of those as well, because it was important to use a gritty soap to exfoliate the skin in combination with a gentle foaming cleanser. Of course, Levi had never heard of such a thing, but that wasn’t all. There were sugar scrubs, lotions, oils, face masks, and multiple razors and shaving creams. Eren also sometimes liked to brush his teeth with charcoal (apparently it made teeth whiter) so he had one of _those_ toothpastes to use along with what Levi considered normal toothpaste. Eren couldn’t use regular mouthwash either (because it burned too bad) so he had to order a special alcohol-free mouthwash off of Amazon, along with some vegan, all natural, facial moisturizer to put on his face _every_ night before bed and _every_ morning after he took a shower.

It was honestly too much. Levi would have expected something like this had he been shacking up with a woman, but Eren was a guy. How could a guy have _so_ many toiletries? Eren explained to him that all of those products were how he stayed so pretty and that Armin lived the same way so it wasn’t weird at all. But to Levi it _was_ weird. Yes, Eren had baby soft skin and always so smelled wonderful, but was that really because he went through such a laborious morning and night routine? Also, if he and Eren lived together permanently, Levi would have to get a different apartment – one with two closets – because Eren took over that as well. He had way too many clothes for it to be normal, and some of Eren’s clothes caused Levi to do a double take. Did Eren seriously wear shorts _that_ short out in public? Because if he did, it should be illegal!

Levi almost felt as though he’d been duped. Living with Eren was great, but fuck, why did he have so many things?!

“How come you never went through all of this when you stayed over?” Levi asked, eyes glued to Eren as he rubbed lotion up and down his freshly shaven legs. Levi learned that Eren always put lotion on _after_ he put on another serum that prevented ingrown hairs. Who’d have thought.

“I only stayed for a couple of days at a time,” Eren explained. “It would have been impractical to bring everything. Plus, you can’t just use a few items – everything has to be used together or it’s ineffective.”

“Oh.”

Eren giggled at Levi’s confused expression. “You sound worn out.”

“I just don’t get it. I’ve never met someone who wanted to reverse the clock so badly.”

“It’s not about reversing the clock. Aging is inevitable. This is just my daily maintenance routine.”

“You’re gonna do this shit daily?” Levi huffed. “I’ve been waiting on you to come to bed for almost two hours.”

“I know, and you’ve been _very_ patient.”

Levi narrowed his eyes at the way Eren cooed out that previous remark as if he were some sort of child.

“Stop glaring at me,” Eren giggled. “And I don’t do this every night, Levi. I’m not that hairy so I shave like, every two or three days, and I only use a face mask twice a week. But I put on lotion and moisturizer every night so that’s just something you’re going to have to get used to.”

“Tch.”

“Maybe if you stop complaining I’ll let you touch me.”

Levi shut up then and continued to wait patiently for Eren to finish. He definitely wanted access to those long, smooth, soft legs of Eren’s, and he had no doubt that if he pissed him off, there would be no touching. Usually Levi did what he wanted without regard for what anyone else told him, but Eren didn’t fuck around. Levi learned very quickly that no meant no. Sometimes he pushed Eren and could get away with it too, however once Eren served him with the _look,_ Levi quickly gave up. He knew when he lost.

Once he was finally done Eren returned the shea butter back to the bathroom and crawled into the bed next to Levi, the silk sheets nearly paralyzing him due to how cold they were.

“Let’s watch a movie,” Eren suggested and took his rightful placed curled up in Levi’s side. “Something funny.”

“The remotes are on your side of the bed.”

“Then remove your death grip so I can get them.”

Sighing, Levi let Eren go and resisted the urge shove Eren down and fuck him into the mattress. Eren was on his hands and knees, stretching to reach over to the nightstand and his ass was so deliciously close to Levi’s face.

So close . . . he was _so_ close . . . But, Eren was probably tired.

They’d already had sex four times today and the right thing to do was allow Eren some time to recover. He’d taken a shower and put all that stupid lotion on too, so Levi figured he’d just leave him alone. But damn, it was so tempting.

“Ugh, Levi, I wish you’d get Hulu,” Eren commented and fell back into Levi’s side. “There’s nothing funny on Netflix.”

“You know where my card is,” Levi said. “If you want to sign up for Hulu I’m not stopping you.”

“Really?? Can I sign up right now?!”

“No. It’s late. Do it tomorrow.”

“Fine,” Eren grumbled and began to search through the list of movies for something he recognized. “And don’t fall asleep like an eighty-year-old man this time, please.”

Levi scoffed. “Not my fault that the movies you pick are boring as shit.”

Also, Eren had to be crazy to expect him to stay awake by cuddling all over him like he was. Already Levi was feeling drowsy just from smelling Eren. It would be so easy to fall asleep right now . . .

“How about we compromise and watch an action movie then?” Eren asked.

“Fine.”

“Have any suggestions?”

“Nope. I don’t plan on paying much attention anyways,” Levi said, entirely too focused on running his hand along Eren’s ass. Without hesitation, he slipped his hand into the skimpy shorts he had no idea why Eren even bothered to wear to bed and rested his hand against one of those soft, tan globes.

“You’re no fun,” Eren sighed, and clicked on _Thor._ “Pay attention because there’s gonna be a quiz at the end.”

“Yeah yeah.”

Though Levi was being difficult, Eren definitely didn’t mind Levi groping him while they watched the movie. However, it was clear that Levi wasn’t paying attention because after fifteen minutes an obnoxious snore ripped through the cinematic atmosphere and Eren growled before elbowing his boyfriend harshly in the side.

“I’m watching it! Damn!”

“No you’re not! If you are, what just happened??”

“. . .”

Eren rolled his eyes. “That’s what I thought. Old man, you can’t stay awake for shit. Thought you were a night owl?”

“I _am_ when I’m doing something worthwhile.”

“And watching a movie with your precious Eren isn’t worthwhile?”

Levi glanced at Eren’s puppy eyes before sighing and removing his hand from Eren’s ass. He sat up straight and finally paid attention. If this was something _he_ wanted to watch he’d have no problem staying awake. He didn’t dislike action movies, but he _did_ dislike the way Eren stared at Chris Hemsworth. What was so great about that guy anyways? Was it the hair?

“So,” Eren sighed. “I’ll have to start it over since you missed the beginning, okay?”

“You really know how to torture me,” Levi stated emotionlessly. “You really do.”

“I _know,”_ Eren giggled. “And I bet you can’t wait to spend the rest of your life with me, huh?”

After staring at Eren’s smug expression for only a few seconds, Levi decided to wipe it right off his face. “Yeah I can’t. Got a problem with that?”

The brunette shook his head, eyes wide and cheeks inflamed. “N-no!”

“Good.”

Eren wasn’t sure how it happened, but somehow he managed to fall for Levi all over again in that very moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Levi is SO naive to think he and Eren won't ever argue xD


	22. Chapter 22

“Eren, no!”

“But why?!”

“Because we said so! No means no!”

“I’m not accepting that answer until you give me a _logical_ reason as to why I can’t keep living with Levi !”

“Here’s a _great_ reason: you. Are. In. SCHOOL!”

Eren rolled his eyes in disbelief at his father’s argument. “Okay, I’m in school. So what? School is about thirty minutes away from his apartment, which isn’t a bad drive. Plus, I don’t even have classes on Fridays this semester, so I’d only be driving an average of four hours a week. I also don’t have to take out an extra fifteen thousand dollars for room and board this year in my loan, so I'm saving money too. Therefore, living with Levi whilst in school is perfect.”

“Eren,” Grisha said slowly. “The only reason you live on campus anyways is because it keeps you accountable! I’m sorry son, but I don’t trust you living off campus. I feel as though your schoolwork won’t get done, you won’t study, and you’ll spend all of your time engaging in _non_ educational activities!”

“You don’t trust me to do my work?!” Eren cried. “I’m almost twenty!”

“Exactly! You’re still a baby!”

“I’m not a baby! Do you want me to graduate with a hundred thousand dollars of debt?? If I lived with Levi for the remainder of my time in school, I could save forty-five thousand dollars!”

“You think you’re going to be with him that long??”

“Uh, he wants to marry me. Unless one of us dies, I _do_ plan to be with him for that long!”

The argument continued as Mikasa sat silently on the couch across from them watching the scene unfold. Levi made the intelligent choice to stay home and out of the fight for fear of making things worse, and Mikasa could understand why. While her parents didn’t _hate_ Levi (at least, she didn’t think they hated him), they certainly didn't like him. Again, she assumed it had something to do with his last name, but with only a couple of weeks left before school starts, she still hadn’t brought _it_ up. Maybe it didn’t matter . . . and if Levi wasn’t making the connection, then she probably shouldn’t worry about it either.

“Eren, you _can’t_ stay with him,” her father said factually. “You just can’t.”

“Why?” Eren asked. “Give me one _good_ reason, other than his age, as to why I can’t.”

“It’s just . . . Carla! Talk to your son!”

Carla sighed and cast Mikasa a tired glance, almost as if to ask her for help. But Mikasa didn't dare say a word. While it wasn’t her business, she really didn’t see a problem behind Eren staying with Levi. If anything, it would teach him some responsibility because he’d no longer be able to roll out of bed and make it to class thirty seconds before it started.

“Eren, he’s right,” Carla said. “You don’t need to live with Levi. Can’t you just see him on the weekends?”

“But I don’t want to see him only on the weekends!” Eren whined. “I want to see him every day! Plus, he needs me there! If I’m not there, he doesn’t eat a proper diet!”

“Oh, so you’re his slave?” Grisha asked and then scoffed. “I get it.”

“No, I’m not his slave! Don’t be so dramatic, Dad! You know damn well you’d live off of hot pockets and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches if Mom didn’t cook for your lazy ass!”

“Watch the language, Eren! You’re not doing yourself any favors!”

“I don’t care! I’m living with him!”

“No, you’re not! I’ll call the police!”

“Do it! I’m over eighteen and legal! I could live under a bridge if I wanted to and you couldn’t stop me!”

“Eren, please!” their mother pleaded. “Please reconsider. You have the rest of your life to spend with Levi. There’s no reason for you to need to live with him. If you spend too much time with him, you’ll get sick of him . . . trust me.”

“Hey!” their father yelled, unable to tell if Carla had just taken an intentional blow at him. “That’s not true! Are you sick of me, Carla?”

Carla continued without acknowledging her husband. “Levi will be fine without you. I promise.”

“Mom . . .” Eren murmured, carefully considering her words. His mother always had a way of making things sound rational without even trying . . . but still. “I’m staying with him. Sorry.”

“You stay with him and you forfeit any rights to come back here.”

“Grisha!” Carla yelled. “Do _not_ threaten him like that! He’s your son!”

“Well, we at least have _one_ obedient child! Eren, if you want to go, then go!”

Eren rolled his eyes. “Whatever! It’s not like I’ll struggle if I’m not under your roof! You think I need you?! Because I don’t, and you’re only hurting yourselves! If you’re willing to kick me out and never see me again because I want to live with the person I intend to marry, then fine!”

“Eren . . .” Mikasa pleaded lightly. She wondered if it was appropriate to speak up in such a heated argument, but she felt like she had no choice. Having Eren live with Levi was one thing, but losing him forever? That was unacceptable. “I can’t lose you, Eren. You’re my brother and even though we’re not related, you’re all the immediate family I have.”

“Mmhmm.”

“What was that, Dad?” Eren asked his father, who’d rolled his eyes in apparent sarcasm at Mikasa’s previous statement. “Now you’re picking on your obedient child? You must want to lose both of us.”

“Nothing,” Carla insisted. “It was nothing. Right Grisha?”

“Hmm. I don’t know,” her husband said and laughed lightly. “Why is everybody looking at me? I’m not the one trying to move in with a . . . well, I needn’t say anymore. Eren’s always been so stubborn and if this is what he wants, then I suppose I can’t convince him otherwise.”

Eren narrowed his eyes. “Move in with a what?”

“Nothing.”

“This conversation is over,” Carla said sadly. “I can’t deal with this friction any longer . . . it’s so sad and unfortunate.”

“Sad and unfortunate,” Grisha repeated slowly. “It really is. It’s just a _sad_ situation.”

“You’re getting senile, old man,” Eren said. “You’re so upset that I’m moving in with Levi that you’re starting to hallucinate.”

“Okay Eren. Okay. You win.”

Eren raised a brow. “That’s it, Dad? You’re giving up?”

“What’s the point? If you want to live like _that_ then I guess I can’t stop you.”

“Live like _what?_ Like a king? With all of my college debt paid off, working with people I enjoy being around, and married to the man of my dreams? Wow, what a sad life I’m going to be living. You sound _jealous.”_

“Jealous?!”

“Yeah!” Eren screamed, matching his father’s suddenly furious tone. “You know, had you been nice to Levi he probably would have offered to pay off all the debt you accumulated in medical school! He probably would have paid off this house, paid off your credit card, paid off your car, bought you a _new_ car: whatever you wanted! You could’ve had it all Dad, but you’re just throwing it away along with your son!”

“If anything, he's obligated to pay off Mikasa's debt!”

“Grisha!!!” Carla yelled, feeling Mikasa stiffen beside her. “Enough! The conversation is over!”

“Mikasa’s debt?” Eren asked, ignoring his mother. “Why?”

“Yeah why?” Mikasa also asked.

“I don’t know why he said that . . .” their frazzled mother mumbled, clearly worn out by all of the yelling. “He’s just confused.”

“Dad, please,” Mikasa begged. “If there’s something you’re not telling me, please tell me now.”

“It’s nothing, Mikasa.”

_“Please.”_

“What's going on?” Eren asked, dumbly. “Am I missing something?”

He watched as his father stood up and made his way towards the kitchen, clearly done with the conversation, but Mikasa raced after him, grabbing onto his arm in desperation. The action truly surprised Eren. He’d never seen his sister that emotional and anxious. Normally she would accept defeat and refuse to question their parents’ decision, but this time she wasn’t letting it go.

“Dad, wait!” she cried.

The older man sighed, but stopped in his tracks anyways. He briefly made eye contact with Eren before shaking his head in utter defeat.

Not enjoying the treatment, Eren spoke up. “What are looking at me like that for??”

Grisha shrugged. “Just getting one last look at you before I never see you again. That’s all.”

Again, Eren rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I’m leaving.”

“Dad,” Mikasa tried again. “The day Levi came to visit, I heard you and mom talking after he left.”

“You . . . what?” Carla asked.

“Yes. I’m sorry for eavesdropping, but I couldn’t help it. Please tell me what you know or I will take matters into my own hands.”

“Okay, I’m lost,” Eren said. “Someone explain it to me.”

“Sounds like you already know, Mikasa,” Grisha said sadly. “Don’t make me say it and don’t make your mother say it. We are your parents.”

“I know that, Dad. You’re the only family I have and you’ll always be the most important to me. But please tell me: for my sake and his sake.”

“Am I stupid?” Eren asked himself, but phrased the question out loud in hopes of an explanation. “Seriously, what are you guys talking about?”

 _“His_ sake?” Grisha asked. “As if I care about his sake. Even if it’s true, what will you do? Will it change anything?”

“Of course not . . .”

“Then why do you need to know?”

“Because . . .” Mikasa said quietly. “If I have a blood-related family member, I want to know.”

Eren watched his mother get up from the couch and head over to Mikasa to give her a hug. And then his father joined in on the hug and it left him more confused than ever. There was something here he was meant to get, but he couldn’t quite understand. There was a connection here . . . somehow, his argument about living with Levi led to his parents hugging Mikasa in the hallway . . .

Hmm . . .

Yeah, he didn’t get it. He was still lost.

“So, if none of this affects me,” Eren began. “I’m just going to head back to Levi’s. I wanted to let you know what I was planning on doing, and I did that, so I guess I’m done here.”

His father briefly shot him a disturbed glance before shrugging. “Fine. We need to speak to your sister in private anyways.”

“No,” Mikasa argued. “Eren needs to know too.”

“I don’t really care.”

Eren left quickly, wanting to rid himself of the cloud of despair that had settled over the living room. His father implied that it didn’t have anything to do with him, and regardless of whether or not Mikasa wanted him to know, if it didn’t affect him it probably wasn’t that important. At this point, all he wanted to do was see his boyfriend.

* * *

Levi could tell Eren was upset when he walked through the door, and instead of saying anything he just waited until Eren walked over to him and stared at him expectantly.

Oh shit, was he _supposed_ to say something? Eren told him what he was going over to his parents’ house to talk about, and by the looks of it, the conversation didn’t go how Eren expected it to.

“Well?!” Eren shouted, arms crossed and eyes wide. “Hello?!”

“Hi.”

Eren rolled his eyes. “Hi? Really?!”

“How did it go?”

“Awful!”

Levi shrugged, not having expected anything different. While he didn’t care what Eren’s parents thought, he didn’t blame them for not wanting Eren to live with someone fifteen years his senior. If he had a nineteen-year-old Eren’s age he probably wouldn’t let them live with their thirty-four-year-old significant other either.

“I’m guessing they said no?”

“You’re _guessing_ they said no?” Eren asked, clearly pissed off. “Seriously Levi?! I’m literally fuming right now and you’re _guessing_ that they said no?! Seriously?!”

Levi sure was glad he’d remembered to throw that empty milk carton away that he put back into the fridge earlier this morning. If Eren saw it now he would probably _literally_ explode.

“Look, what are you screaming at me for? I can’t do anything about it.”

Eren sighed miserably and plopped down onto the couch beside Levi in a heap. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m sorry. It just annoys me to hear them tell me no and not provide a good enough reason as to _why_ they’re saying no. My dad also told me not to come back, so that’s cool."

“What the fuck??” Levi asked, staring at Eren in shock. “He did? Fucking bastard.”

“Yeah well, he _really_ doesn’t like you so I shouldn’t be surprised.”

“No. That’s bullshit. You’re his son.”

“Not anymore.”

Levi sighed deeply, hoping Eren wasn’t too distraught by the information. He knew Eren didn’t plan on picking his family over him (and that made him happier than he’d like to admit) but it still didn’t feel right for Eren to give up so easily. It just wasn’t fair: why couldn’t Eren have both? Why did his family have to be so difficult and force him to choose? Honestly, Levi couldn’t believe that they hated him _that_ much. All he’d pretty much done was show up and offer to take good care of Eren and _this_ was how they treated him?? And treated Eren?!

“Your parents are a couple of pieces of shit,” Levi said. “However, I still want you to try.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that I don’t want you to give up yet. Family is important no matter how shitty they may be.”

“But –

“And,” Levi continued. “I know I talked a bunch of shit about my whore mother and murderous uncle, but I still think about them. They were the only family I had.”

Eren frowned, deciding against making a comment. He probably couldn’t say anything that would make Levi feel better about his situation.

“So make an effort, Eren. They might come around.”

“And if they don’t?”

“Isn’t the answer obvious? You pick me.”

Eren giggled. “The answer wasn’t obvious after your little family speech.”

“Family is important, but I’m more important. That’s just the way it is.”

“You _are_ more important,” Eren agreed. “Who else is going to pay off my college debt and take me to Hawaii and Niagara Falls and the Great Wall of China and - 

“Is that all I’m good for? Taking you places and paying off your debt?” Levi asked playfully, but he made a concerted effort to remember every place Eren had just mentioned for future purposes.

“Hmm, let’s see, what else are you good for?” Eren mused aloud. “You’re good for fucking.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

“You’re also good for cuddling with at night.”

“Gross.”

“You’re good for cleaning.”

“Now _that’s_ a compliment.”

Eren rolled his eyes. “Yeah, no one can get down on their hands and knees and polish a floor quite like you can, Levi.”

“Well, no one can get down and their hands and knees and take a dick up the ass quite like you can, Eren.”

“Well, no one can walk out into the street and immediately get hit by a car in GTA V quite like _you_ can, Levi.”

“Tch whatever,” Levi grumbled, narrowing his eyes as Eren dared to laugh at him. “I didn’t grow up playing shit like that. I’ve never even held one of those, whatever you call them.”

“You wouldn’t even try though! After you got hit you got mad and didn’t want to play to anymore!”

“I don’t like playing games that I can’t win.”

“Clearly!”

“Show me how it’s done then, brat.”

“Fine!”

Levi simply smiled in victory as Eren got up to turn on the TV. He wasn’t really interested in learning how to play; he was just going to use this as an opportunity to get into Eren’s pants like he usually did. Eren played right into his hands too by taking a seat on his lap and getting comfortable. It seemed as though Eren hadn’t quite learned that sitting on Levi’s lap meant that Levi’s span of attention gave Eren’s ass immediate priority over anything else.

“Watch, okay?” Eren asked and began pressing buttons on his controller. “It’s really easy, and I think you would like it if you practiced a little bit.”

Levi _was_ practicing though – practicing rubbing his hands along the smooth expanse of Eren’s back and dipping his thumbs ever so slightly beneath the waistband of Eren’s shorts.

“You’re so annoying,” Eren chuckled, straightening his arms out so that Levi could remove his shirt.

“For giving you a shoulder massage?”

“Pretty sure you plan on massaging _more_ than my shoulders.”

“Just focus on that stupid game of yours and stop talking.”

Eren rolled his eyes and indeed went back to his game, knowing that he wasn’t going to last long with Levi’s hands running all over him. Levi blew cool air onto his back, making him jump, and that evil little chuckle coming from behind him made Eren want to turn around and clock Levi over the head. But at the same time it made him melt into a puddle of mush because it was so deep, arousing, and masculine.

Falling back against Levi’s chest, Eren relaxed as Levi’s hands traveled all over his torso. By now his nipples were one of the most sensitive places on his body and he keened in pleasure when Levi just barely brushed against them. He moaned even louder when Levi roughly pinched them in between his fingers and Eren resisted urge to rub his legs together and ease some of the friction. It was embarrassing how hard he already was, and the jean material of his shorts didn’t exactly allow his dick the proper room to grow.

“Don’t you dare,” Levi hissed in his ear when he saw Eren’s hand try to surreptitiously inch downward.

“L-Levi . . .” Eren begged nicely, hoping Levi would take pity on him. “At least let me unzip them.”

“No.”

“Ugh! Why?!”

“Tch, fine, whiny brat.”

Eren moaned happily when Levi unzipped his shorts and dipped his fingers underneath the waistband of Eren’s underwear. He waited patiently for Levi to stop teasing him and eventually Eren could feel the tips of Levi’s fingers graze his hardened flesh.

“Mmm, please daddy.”

“There you go with that ‘daddy’ shit again.”

“Aww, you still don’t like it?”

Levi chuckled and wrapped his fingers around Eren’s member, squeezing the flesh to the point of where Eren whimpered at the pain. Truthfully, he didn’t care what Eren called him as long as he wasn’t calling him some other man’s name. Or maybe he _did_ like it because it had gotten him to immediately do what Eren wanted in the first place.

Eren sighed happily as Levi jerked him off slowly. He felt like thrusting his hips along for more stimulation, but Levi was so damn hard underneath him it would probably be cruel to move off of him even for a second. Instead, he turned his head and giggled when Levi kissed him hard. Parting his lips, Eren allowed Levi’s tongue to enter and dominate his mouth, relaxing slightly as Levi took control. He’d kissed Levi so many times now that Eren had a knack for telling which tea Levi had drank throughout the day. Today, Eren could taste the bitter afternotes of Darjeeling on his tongue and to him, it was one of the grossest black teas Levi drank. However, he didn’t mind it since it came from Levi’s mouth.

His breath hitched slightly in his nose when Levi tightened his grip, squeezing him harder but not increasing his pace. It made Eren whine and his heart started to race in anticipation when he could feel Levi start to shift under him. His eyes rolled into the back of his head when he realized Levi was attempting to hump him, probably aroused to hell over all of the wet sounds of their lips sloppily rubbing together and Eren’s cries of pleasure. Pulling away, Eren sucked in a deep breath and groaned loudly when he came, legs attempting to close as Levi continued to jerk him and milk him for all he had. Still very much aware of the painful erection that was poking him in the ass, Eren kissed Levi in thanks and moved off of him to drop to his knees.

“Now it’s your turn. Play the game while I give you a blowjob.”

“I’m not playing shit,” Levi said, watching in satisfaction as Eren hastily undid his pants to get to his erection. “Why do that when I could watch the beautiful view below me?”

“Aww,” Eren cooed, and licked a large bead of precum off of Levi’s member. It felt so hot and heavy and in his hand and Eren wanted nothing more than to suck Levi off until he was screaming, but he couldn’t let Levi get away with all of the teasing he inflicted upon him, now could he? “You think I’m beautiful?”

“With my dick down your throat? The _most_ beautiful.”

Eren smiled and ran his hand very loosely over Levi’s member, intending to torture him. Since Levi seemed to like blowing cold air onto him, Eren did the same, not missing that little huff of exasperation that came from above him. His movements were lazy, but his eyes were more than focused on Levi’s package. It wasn’t often Eren got to look at Levi’s dick up close and it was nothing to laugh about. His favorite thing to do was run his tongue along the underside of Levi’s shaft and feel the outline of the thick vein that curled around his member. Sometimes Eren swore he could feel it inside of him and it was a good thing he was already on his knees because he could feel his legs quiver at the idea.

“Hurry it up,” Levi demanded.

“First of all, you need to ask me and in a more pleasant tone,” Eren scolded him. “Try asking like _I_ do it.”

“In your dreams, kid.”

Eren giggled and finally used his tongue to lick from the base of Levi’s dick all the way to the tip before closing his mouth over the head. He boldly stared up at Levi who had the most adorable blush on his cheeks Eren had ever seen, and he had to resist the urge to kiss him. Instead, he slowly sank down, breathing through his nose as he tried not to choke. Eren definitely wasn’t an expert at this yet, however it never took him long to work Levi into a frantic mess.

“Come on,” Levi bit out through clenched teeth, knowing Eren was holding back on him. That brat knew how to make him cum in about ninety seconds but Eren always took his sweet ass time. He resisted the urge to grab the back of Eren’s head and fuck his throat raw, because Eren didn’t appreciate the rough treatment and Levi knew better than to push him: that was one quick way to lose blowjob privileges forever. Finally after what seemed like forever Eren finally gave him what he wanted and properly sucked him off, bobbing his head and sinking down over Levi’s dick steadily and without choking. Sometimes staring into Eren’s angelic and innocent looking eyes as he desperately tried to please him made Levi feel like he was doing something wrong. No one should look that cute while sucking a dick: _no one_. But Eren was adorable, even when Levi could feel the top of his dick hitting Eren’s gag reflex and Eren’s nose was buried into his pubic hair.

“Fuck . . .” Levi breathed, stiffening as Eren giggled around him. “Little shit . . . don’t laugh at me.”

Eren only sucked him harder, eyes narrowing in curiosity as he bobbed his head faster, drawing more lusty groans out of Levi’s throat. He could feel himself hardening again as he took in Levi’s disheveled appearance: hair sticking to his forehead and eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Sighing to himself, Eren reached in between his legs and stroked his own hardening erection again, moaning over the pleasure he got from this. The taste, the smell, and the noises all flooded Eren’s senses at once – he felt so dirty but so fucking good at the same time. He was such a slave to Levi in the bedroom, because now all he could think about was having those strong, masculine hands manipulating his body however Levi saw fit.

“Now you’re fucking touching yourself?” Levi asked breathily, eyes trained momentarily on Eren’s arm before locking back onto those big, teary eyes.

“Mmhmm,” Eren moaned around him.

“Fucking brat,” he bit out, hunching over and grabbing Eren’s head anyways. Eren’s eyes widened as Levi jerked him back by the hair and shoved him towards himself so hard Eren _did_ choke. Eyes rolling into the back of his head, he tried not to get dizzy from the lack of oxygen as Levi came down his throat with a harsh groan, locking him roughly in place until he was finished. Eren easily swallowed (since he didn’t really have much of a choice) and tapped the side of Levi’s thigh when felt like he was going to pass out. When Levi let him go Eren heaved in a few desperate breaths of air before glaring up at Levi with distrustful eyes. He would have seriously scolded him, but the look of absolute bliss on Levi’s face made Eren reconsider.

Instead, he quickly grabbed his phone and took a picture, laughing like a crazy person when Levi realized what he’d done.

“You little shit! Delete that right now!”

“No!” Eren screamed, racing into the bedroom and slamming the door behind him. He held his phone out of Levi’s reach as he was tackled onto the bed, laughing as Levi legitimately struggled to take it away from him. Throwing it to the floor where Levi really couldn’t get it, Eren retaliated, trying to pin Levi down onto the bed. He knew he was probably too weak to do so successfully, but he felt like he was putting up a pretty good fight.

“You’re _not_ deleting that picture!” Eren proclaimed, mounting Levi and pinning his wrists onto the mattress. “Back down!”

 _“You_ texted someone from my phone pretending to be me,” Levi said. “I get one free pass to do whatever I want on your phone now.”

“That’s not how that works.”

“Yeah it is. An eye for an eye.”

“An eye for an eye, huh? Then let me suffocate you with _my_ dick and let’s see how you feel.”

“As if your little dick could suffocate me.”

“Fuck you, Levi! No sex for a year!”

“A YEAR?”

Eren laughed out loud at Levi’s shocked and confused expression. “Agree to let me keep the picture of you on my phone and I’ll agree not to abstain from you.”

Levi sighed, truly considering the ultimatum Eren gave him. “. . . Fine. But this means war.”

“A war in trying to take pictures of me after I orgasm?” Eren laughed haughtily. “Good luck! You usually pass out two minutes after fucking _this_ ass!”

 _Oh Eren_ , Levi thought, staring into those blue-green orbs that were intent on challenging him. _You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into . . ._


	23. Chapter 23

Changing his major meant a change of everything. First of all, Eren learned that majoring in human resources was _so_ much easier than majoring in economics. He wouldn’t have to take calculus which he was pretty stoked about, and after signing up for a class that focused on the psychology of the workplace environment, he was beginning to enjoy that field of study too. Of course, he’d had a chat with Levi about changing his major and Levi offered to show him a little of what he did behind to scenes so that Eren could make a truly unbiased, yet educated decision. However, after twenty minutes of Levi walking him through an Excel report Eren was ready to pass out. Levi’s monotone and uninterested-sounding voice didn’t help the explanation of course, but Eren seriously wasn't impressed with grunt work that was statistics. Reading about how the data was collected and analyzed was interesting: actually _doing_ it was a different story.

Thus, he’d gone to his guidance counselor a few days before school started and made the switch. He decided to minor in economics so that the classes he’d already taken wouldn’t go to waste, though Levi had encouraged him to just forget about the minor so that he could graduate faster. But Eren wasn’t having it: he wasn’t going to abandon the field he liked just because he picked up a new major. Plus, Jean made a comment about how he probably wasn’t smart enough for economics anyways, and Eren refused to let that slide. He was going to take as many economics classes as he wanted _and_ get A’s in all of them! If Jean still wanted to talk shit, well, Eren would just tell Levi not to hire him back at the company when Jean graduated from school. That’s right. Eren would go there. Would he feel good about it? No, but he _would_ go there if he had to!

It was currently the Saturday before Hanji’s birthday and Eren busied himself on the computer looking through recipes for yellow cake and chocolate frosting. Though their birthday fell on a Thursday, Eren was pleased to know that Hanji planned to celebrate it on Friday with everyone in the office, which lined up perfectly with his schedule. He could come home Thursday evening and spend all night perfecting the cake for them. It was the least he could do for one of his most dear companions.

His phone rang beside him and he briefly glanced over to see that it was Mikasa. Freaked out that she was calling him instead of texting him, Eren quickly answered it thinking that something was wrong.

“Hello??”

“Hey . . .” Mikasa said. “I need to talk to you. Are you busy?”

“Not really. What’s up?” Eren asked curiously.

“I kind of need to do it in person . . .”

“Okay, you can come over. Levi’s at the gym right now so you can speak to me alone if that’s what you need to do.”

“Oh . . .”

Eren paused, wondering why she sounded so disappointed. “I mean, if you want to see his adorable face _that_ badly, you’re welcome to stay until he comes back.”

Mikasa sighed deeply. “I don’t know how to respond to that. Just text me the address and I’ll be over there as soon as I can.”

Eren laughed and said bye before hanging up and texting her Levi’s address and the PIN numbers she’d need to get into the complex. By the tone of her voice, she definitely sounded stressed, reluctant, and even scared. As long as she wasn’t hurt or sick and his parents were alive and well, he didn’t understand what could possibly call for such seriousness. He supposed all he could do was wait patiently and brace himself to hear about a possible break up between Mikasa and Annie. Hopefully it wasn’t that bad, though Eren had a feeling that what he was about to hear wasn’t going to be good . . .

* * *

Upon hearing a knock on the door, Eren closed his laptop and got up to answer it.

“Hey,” he said carefully, not wanting to agitate his emotionally worn-out looking sister any further. “Come on in. Do you want something to drink or anything?”

“No,” she murmured, walking into the house and sitting down uncomfortably on the couch. “I’m fine . . . his apartment is nice.”

“Right?” Eren agreed and then took a seat beside her. “Levi said he decorated it himself.”

“No way.”

“That’s what I said. There’s no way he managed to put together such a beautiful apartment all on his own. He might have a hidden knack for decorating, but I seriously doubt it . . . so tell me: what did you want to talk about?”

Mikasa looked startled as if she hadn’t expected the question before sadly looking away. “I think Levi and I are related.”

Eren paused for a moment and blinked once and then twice. “O . . . kay. What makes you think that?”

“We share the same last name. Before Mom and Dad adopted me, my last name was Ackerman.”

“Really??”

“Yes. I’ve been thinking about this for so long too, Eren. If we’re related it means that I have a blood-related family member . . .”

“That’s great!” Eren exclaimed, grabbing her shoulders as if to shake some happiness into her. “Are you serious?? Get more excited! Levi would be so happy if you were related to him! He would love to have a blood-related family member too!”

Mikasa gazed at Eren hopefully. “Seriously?”

“Yes! And,” Eren added. “If he was related to you, Mom and Dad should be more than happy to accept him into the family. They would have no reason not to.”

“Well, that’s where the problem lies . . .”

“What problem?”

“They already suspect that Levi is related to me and they don’t like the possible relation.”

“What possible relation?”

“I mean . . .” Mikasa mumbled, removing Eren’s hands from her shoulders. “While we don’t know how he could be related to me, there are so many possibilities. He could be a third cousin, he could first cousin, he could be an uncle, he could be a half-brother . . .”

Eren’s mouth dropped open. “Could he be your dad?”

“I don’t know . . . technically our age gap allows for it. Apparently, I was dropped off at the orphanage by my birth mother who named me ‘Mikasa Ackerman’. Mom told me that the orphanage told her that the last name came from my father.”

“I mean . . .” Eren said thoughtfully, wondering what his face must look like after receiving the news. He wasn’t upset or anything, but he truly _was_ shocked. “We can ask him when he gets back. He’s probably not aware of the possible connection at all.”

“Yeah,” Mikasa agreed. “And that’s why Mom and Dad are so upset. I don’t think they really should be though . . . if he knew I existed, surely he wouldn’t ignore me, right?”

“No!” Eren said immediately. “I promise you, if he knew you existed he would have made an effort to find you. He’ll probably be upset if he finds out that you're related to him because he’ll have missed out on so many years of your life.”

“Well, there’s no need to worry about the past. All we have to look forward to now is the present and the future.”

Eren smiled lightly. “He would say something like that too.”

“Hmm . . .”

“He should be back pretty soon. Are you sure you don’t want anything to eat?”

Mikasa shrugged. “What do you have?”

“How does chips and salsa sound?”

“That sounds fine.”

Eren nodded and headed into the kitchen just in time to run into Levi who opened the front door. Instead of saying anything to him, Eren allowed the man to charge past him and into the bathroom. Eren briefly explained to Mikasa that Levi couldn’t stand being sweaty and had to take a shower immediately after getting back from the gym. And he couldn’t take a shower in the gym locker room because he would _obviously_ get athlete’s foot, so that was out of the question.

“That’s really particular,” Mikasa commented. “And strange.”

Eren laughed, but agreed. “Yeah, he has a lot of weird habits. My _favorite_ one is when he leaves empty milk cartons in the fridge. I _love_ it when he does that.”

Mikasa froze at Eren’s sarcastic tone, looking at him as though she was in trouble.

“I thought I escaped the madness, but I ended up walking right back into it,” Eren said slowly and then narrowed his eyes playfully at Mikasa. “Like father like daughter, huh?”

“Eren . . .”

He smiled and brought the food over to the couch, spreading everything out on Levi’s pristine coffee table and already getting crumbs and food everywhere. “I’m kidding, Mikasa. Don’t take it too seriously.”

“I’m not, but I’d prefer any relation to him over that,” she explained. “If he’s my father then it’ll probably hurt Mom and Dad, especially Dad. And while we don’t know for sure how he’s related to me, the fact that Mom and Dad are _begging_ me to just forget about this is . . . very telling.”

“No, I _want_ him to be your father.”

“What?!”

“Yeah, why not?” Eren asked. “The more DNA he shares with you, the more of a reason Mom and Dad will have to accept him as a part of the family.”

Mikasa raised an eyebrow. “What makes you say that?”

“Think about it. If he’s your father, aren’t you going to want to spend time with him? Aren’t you going to want to spend holidays with him? By refusing to acknowledge him, Mom and Dad are going to selfishly force you to choose between them, and your birth father and brother. Levi is more than happy to get along with Mom and Dad, but they’re the ones being difficult,” Eren said, unknowingly impressing Mikasa with his speech. “Besides, I don’t know why they’re so upset about it anyways. You’re not going to start calling Levi ‘Dad’ are you?”

“Of course not.”

“Exactly. We all know who your parents are. Plus, Levi would probably hate it if you called him that.”

“Eren . . . you can be so smart when you want to be.”

“Yup!” Eren said happily. “This is what I was born to do. Offer advice on how to mend relationships.”

Mikasa chuckled lightly. “Yet you somehow managed to get kicked out of the house.”

“Once we have all of the facts, I’m going to present my case again and I plan on winning this time. When Mom and Dad realize that Levi isn’t a threat, they’ll probably come around. Honestly, I could _not_ figure out why they hated him so much, but now I understand.”

“Well, let’s just keep our fingers crossed that he’s a cousin,” Mikasa said. “I think that will give us the best outcome.”

“Whatever you say,” Eren said, and dipped a chip into the salsa to take a bite, only to sigh in annoyance. “That idiot. He can’t even go to the store and pick up the right kind of salsa.”

“This is fine,” Mikasa said, also eating. “What’s wrong with it?”

“It’s mild and I asked for spicy. And I don’t even know what brand this is! He _knows_ what kind I buy!”

Mikasa smiled as Eren continued to rant about how men can’t do anything right and eventually Levi stepped out of the bedroom with damp hair and dressed in casual clothing. She wasn’t surprised at how weird she felt seeing him like that. After two months of looking at him in a suit, it felt wrong to look at him in a T-shirt and sweatpants.

“Levi!” Eren whined. “You bought the wrong type of salsa!”

“I did?” Levi asked, walking over to pick up the salsa and inspect it. “Didn’t you ask for mild?”

“No, I asked for spicy.”

“Oops.”

“Whatever. Mikasa wants to talk to you.”

Mikasa watched as Levi sat down on the couch behind Eren and jerked Eren into his lap as if her brother was some sort of stuffed animal. If she hadn’t trusted Levi it would have pissed her off to see Eren get manhandled like that, but Eren didn’t seem to mind so she let it go. She supposed she could do the same to Annie sometimes, but _never_ in front of guests. It was embarrassing to act that way in her opinion . . .

“What?” Levi asked, wrapping his arms protectively around Eren’s middle and resting his chin on top of Eren’s head. Mikasa sighed, no longer sure if she really wanted to be related to Levi.

“It’s kind of a long story and I already explained it to Eren once, so I guess I’ll just cut to the chase . . .”

“Good. I don’t like long stories.”

“Don’t be rude,” Eren said, having resorted to eating the chips without the salsa. “I’ll just tell you. Levi, you and Mikasa share the last name and we think you could be related.”

Levi’s eyes widened in disbelief and Mikasa really wished _she_ had been the one to break to news because now Levi looked entirely too skeptical for her liking.

“What??”

“Yeah. We share the same last name, Levi.”

Levi shrugged. “Look kid, a lot of people share the same last name and they aren’t related. Could just be a coincidence.”

Mikasa narrowed her eyes. “But what if it isn’t?”

“It probably is.”

“You don’t know that!”

“I’m telling you it’s just a coincidence!”

“So that’s it?! You’re just going to write me off like that??” Mikasa asked sadly. “Why don’t you want to know?”

“Tch. Don’t want to get my hopes up. That’s all.”

“. . . I want a DNA test,” Mikasa said quietly, her voice leaving no room for argument. “You may not want to believe it, but my parents certainly do and they wouldn’t act like they do around you if there wasn’t a possibility.”

“I see. That’s why those morons have a problem with me, huh?”

“Can you blame them? They think you left me.”

Levi stiffened before narrowing his eyes at the accusation. “That’s bullshit. Had I known you were alive I would have looked for you. I’m not that fucking heartless.”

“Well, I’m right here and we can confirm if we’re related or not . . .”

Levi shook his head. “I don’t know if it’s worth it. It’s very likely that we barely share any DNA at all. My mother had so many kids: before me and after me. She had a lot of siblings too. I was raised by an uncle who probably has a hundred kids out there running around.”

“So?”

“So we probably don’t share a significant amount of DNA. Just drop it.”

Eren sighed and reached over his head to shove a chip in Levi’s mouth to make him be quiet. “I really don’t get you, Levi. Don’t you want to know if you have a blood-related family member? You have a chance to confirm it and you’re running away from the opportunity? What are you hiding from?”

Levi ignored the question and Eren continued. “If you think I’ll be mad, I won’t be. I want you two to be related. And deep down inside, I know you want it too.”

When Eren was ignored again, he tried a different approach. “Mikasa could be your daughter you know. It’s no secret you were fucking bitches left and right without condoms at fifteen years old. Man up and accept it.” “

Brat,” Levi growled. “Watch your mouth.”

“Get the DNA test,” Eren ordered. “I’m not asking you to do it. I’m _telling_ you to do it.”

Levi grew quiet until he saw Mikasa smirking at him. “What?!”

“Oh nothing,” Mikasa quipped. “It’s just nice to watch Eren put you in your place.”

“Tch. Whatever.”

“It’s not ‘whatever’. I want to contact a lab immediately,” Mikasa said. “Maybe we can go today.”

“You’re way too eager ‘Kas,” Eren chuckled. “You know, if Levi is your dad and I marry him, I can technically ground you.”

“That’s not how that works at all,” Mikasa argued lightly, reaching over and ruffling Eren’s hair. “You’re so silly.”

Levi resisted the urge to slice her hand off when she touched Eren so familiarly, and he had to force himself to remember that she was Eren’s sister . . . and possibly _his_ sibling/half-sibling/cousin/niece/daughter . . . he had a lot to think about.

“We’ll do it next Saturday,” Levi announced. “Is that okay with you?”

Mikasa nodded. “Yes, that’s fine. I’ll let my parents know.”

“Can I read the results?” Eren asked desperately. “Please??”

“You just want to pretend you’re Maury Povich,” Levi sneered and Eren tilted his head back to look at him.

“How did you know?!”

“I’ve been living with you long enough to have figured you out by now.”

Mikasa smiled and stood up to take her leave. “Yes, you can read them. I’ll probably feel too nervous to read them myself. I’ll see you at school.”

Once she left Eren struggled to turn around in Levi’s iron grip so that he could face him properly.

“Are you excited?” he asked happily. “Are you? Are you?!”

“I guess,” Levi said. “I’m just not getting my hopes up.”

“Why not?? She looks just like you and you both share a lot of weird quirks.”

“Yeah? Like what?”

“Oh,” Eren said, voice full of sarcasm. “You both share my _favorite_ quirk of all.”

“Don’t tell me. I already know what it is,” Levi grumbled. “I know it bugs you, but I can’t help it.”

“Why?” Eren groaned. “It’s so illogical and it doesn’t make any sense to put an _empty_ container back into the fridge. Fucking throw it away!”

“Brat, you don’t get to spend three hours getting ready for bed and call someone else illogical.”

“Hey, be thankful that I spend so much time taking care of myself. I do it all for you!”

“I _am_ thankful, but you need to tone it down. When you’re forty you’ll still look nineteen and when I’m fifty-five I’m going to look fifty-five.”

“So?”

“I’m gonna look like a pervert.”

“You already _are_ a pervert though,” Eren said, and then giggled when Levi pulled him close and kissed him hard.

“Damn right.”

“Ooh,” Eren giggled as Levi carried him off to the bedroom. “Are we gonna play?”

“No. I’m tired from the gym and just want to rest.”

“I’m shocked. You’re not getting bored of me, are you?”

“Of you?” Levi asked, staring at Eren’s adorable face and wondering how he got so lucky. “Never.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to drag this out forever so hang on, my friends! xD   
> Also, I wanted to take this opportunity to announce that I'll begin posting another story (short, about 9 chapters) later tonight if any of you are interested in tuning in! :)


	24. Chapter 24

“Okay Levi,” Eren giggled as he divided and poured his cake batter into three cake pans. “I love you, but you need to let me go. I can’t really bake with you hanging all over me.”

Levi had been clinging to Eren the entire time he was in the kitchen, arms wrapped around his waist and body pulled so tightly to his own it was as if they were glued together. Even after all this time of dating Eren, Levi couldn’t get enough of him. _And_ he may or may not have had a nightmare last night where Eren left him, hence the extra attention on his part. Instead of talking about it though (because he'd never admit to such a thing), Levi woke up and dragged himself to work like he usually would, deciding that once he came home he would spend some quality time with Eren to make himself feel better. But it had been over three hours and it just wasn’t enough. While he didn’t feel like crap anymore, he _still_ didn’t want to let Eren go.

“You’re going to end up hurting us both,” Eren said again. “I need to put these in the oven. Let me go for like two seconds.”

Levi did, and as soon as Eren closed the oven Levi was back on him again.

“You’re _so_ obsessed with me,” Eren bragged, hoping that would goad Levi into letting him go to prove that he wasn’t. And when _that_ didn’t work, Eren got concerned.

“Are you okay, Levi?”

“Just shut up and bake.”

“I can’t! I need to make the icing now but I can’t get to the electric mixer!”

“Not my problem.”

“Yes, it is! I want to make Hanji the perfect cake and it can’t be perfect if I’m not free to move around!”

Levi rolled his eyes. “Who cares? It’s just a cake.”

“It’s not just a cake. It’s a cake for my former superior and _your_ coworker! You should be thankful that you have someone like Hanji in your life, Levi!”

“Whatever.”

“Ugh, you know what?! Get off me! I’m serious this time! You’re suffocating me and you’re being annoying!” Eren yelled, actively trying to pull Levi’s arms off from around his waist. “I just want some peace and quiet! I’ve had a long day at school and all I wanted to do was come home, make this cake, and go to bed! Leave! Me! _Alone!”_

While he wasn't happy about it, Levi _finally_ let Eren go because he got yelled at. It hurt his feelings to be called annoying, however he’d rather have Eren yell at him for being irritating than have Eren pity him because he had a nightmare.

Understandably pissed off, Levi took a seat at the bar and stared hard at Eren, arms crossed and eyebrows drawn into a vicious furrow. How _dare_ Eren reject his love like that – Eren was _his_ and if Levi got the urge to hang all over him, then that was what he was going to do! He didn’t feel like doing anything else right now! He didn’t want to watch TV, work, or read: he wanted to be with Eren and why was that so hard for him to comprehend?!

“Stop looking at me with that glare,” Eren growled, throwing softened butter into a bowl. “I’ll give you all the attention you want after I’m done. Just be patient.”

“Fuck you,” Levi growled back. “I don’t want any of your attention.”

“You’re such an entitled asshole! One night! I ask for one night to spend time doing something for someone else and you get all jealous over it! I swear, you’re like a little kid that gets jealous over someone else playing with his favorite toy!”

“You’re just going to have to get over my proximity, Eren! I want to be close to you and when I want something I fucking get it!”

Eren paused, looking over at Levi’s face and searching for clues regarding what Levi’s problem _really_ was. He obviously knew that Levi liked to share the same space with him, but he was usually content with just knowing that they were both in the same apartment. It was very strange for Levi to cling to him _this_ much.

Suddenly feeling as though he had an obligation to figure out what was wrong, Eren abandoned the icing and walked out of the kitchen to join Levi behind the bar. “Okay Levi. What’s wrong?”

“Tch. Nothing.”

“You’re not usually this clingy,” Eren told him, beginning to work through the problem. “You came home from work and came straight to me. Most days you leave me alone to go work or watch TV, but you’ve spent the entire time you’ve been home right beside me. You haven’t even been talking that much either.”

“And??” Levi asked impatiently, eyebrows raised and clearly annoyed.

“Hmm . . .” Eren mumbled, and then taking a gamble, added, “Did you have a bad dream last night?”

Eren knew he’d arrived upon the right answer when Levi’s expression changed from one of anger into one of shock. Of course, Levi immediately denied it, and Eren waited patiently for Levi to try to explain why he was wrong for assuming that Levi could _ever_ be bothered by something as stupid as his own imagination. In that moment, Eren couldn’t help but think Levi was so adorable trying to hide the fact that someone like himself could be affected by a bad dream.

“Are you done now?” Eren asked, reaching out to run the backs of his fingers gently against Levi’s cheek. “You don’t have to tell me about it if you don’t want to. I’m sorry for being so mean to you. I didn’t know.”

Levi wasn’t sure how to respond. He knew that he was supposed to quit yelling and arguing so much with Eren. Instead, he was supposed to just push his selfishness aside in order to diffuse the situation. In the moment of any argument he was so angry and felt like he was justified for getting upset, but after the argument ended and Eren apologized, he felt awful. Eren didn’t have anything to be sorry for – it was  _his_ fault for not taking Eren’s advice and leaving him alone.

“I’m sorry,” Levi mumbled, pressing his cheek into Eren’s hand. “Just slap me if I ever act like a jackass.”

“I’m not going to slap you,” Eren chuckled. “I shouldn’t have lost my patience with you.”

“No, _I_ should have just left you alone like you asked me to. I’m sorry I’m stubborn. I don’t want to lose you . . .”

“Levi . . .” Eren cooed softly, feeling his heart clench at Levi’s words. “You’re not going to lose me over wanting to be close to me. I’m flattered that you love me so much. And I promise that when I’m done you can do whatever you want to me.”

“But I want you now . . .” Levi mumbled, running his hands underneath Eren’s shirt and coaxing him into his lap.

The contact made Eren shiver. Almost immediately he could feel his nipples harden and his ass involuntarily clench up in anticipation for what was supposed to come when Levi seduced him like this. Already his body was betraying him, and sitting sideways on Levi’s lap, Eren allowed his head to roll backwards as Levi licked from his clavicles all the way up to his chin.

“O-only a little, okay?” Eren asked breathlessly, and while Levi didn’t agree or promise anything verbally, Eren planned on being the responsible one here. As soon as Levi looked at him with that smoldering gaze and placed his hands on his hips, Eren was already finished. It happened every time.

But _not_ this time.

He would give into Levi, but just until the cakes were ready to come out of the oven. After that, he had to get back to work . . .

_**Three hours later . . .** _

“Go to the store.”

“But it’s almost midnight?”

“Sorry Levi, but there aren’t anymore eggs and I have to redo _everything._ Wal-Mart is still open.”

Levi grumbled as he grabbed his keys, trying not to look into Eren’s furious eyes. He obediently walked to the door, stopping momentarily to see if Eren would just give up on the cake and go to bed with him. The heat he felt on his back was incredible – how Eren could manage to glare at him _that_ hard was a mystery.

“Get out.”

“Eren, I love you.”

“Nice try. Out.”

Eren sighed in exhaustion once Levi finally left and went to work, scraping vigorously at the burnt remnants of what was going to be a delicious and fluffy yellow cake. The pans were going to have to soak in hot water before they could be fully scraped clean and cooked in again, and it really _was_ almost midnight. Baking and icing a three-tier cake was a three hour ordeal, so Eren anticipated he wasn’t going to get to go to bed until three or four A.M. Meanwhile Levi was probably going to come home and immediately pass out in the bed, going to sleep _fully satisfied._ Trying not to fall asleep himself, Eren sat down on the couch and played video games while awaiting Levi’s return.

Since sitting wasn't exactly helping to keep him awake, he decided to go and take a shower because he was feeling pretty sticky after the previous activities. It felt nice to get clean, and once he was done he brewed himself a cup of coffee to _ensure_ he stayed awake. Fortunately, he was pretty susceptible to the affects of caffeine and only ever drank coffee when he was sure he needed it. _Unfortunately,_ it messed with his sleeping schedule, which was disappointing because he’d gotten into a great habit of going to sleep by eleven.

When Levi walked through the door, Eren glared at him, hoping Levi got the message that it was going to be _his_ fault that he would only receive a few hours of sleep tonight.

“You can shower and go to bed,” Eren said tiredly.

Half of him at least wanted Levi to get a good night’s rest, but the other half of him sincerely wanted Levi out of the way. Eren was just **_slightly_** annoyed with his adorable Levi tonight and he didn’t want to adorably chew Levi’s head off and turn into the adorable monster he knew he could be: he made sure to vocalize all of this to Levi as well.

“I’ll stay up with you,” Levi offered, sitting down at the bar and mulling over Eren’s words . . . he _did_ kind of want to see Eren turn into an adorable monster.

“As long as you stay over there, then fine,” Eren threatened and pointed a wooden spoon at him. “Stay. Over. There.”

“Fine.”

Eren moved in silence, feeling way too nervous under Levi’s impenetrable gaze. Even though Levi had nothing to be upset about, his stare was always so dispassionate and stern without even meaning to be. Eren had to remind himself that that was simply Levi’s face, though it was hard to accept because it reminded him of the face his mother stared at him with whenever he did or said something wrong.

“Why are you coming into the kitchen?”

“Juice.”

“Sit down and I’ll get it for you.”

“No.”

Eren simmered quietly to himself as Levi opened the fridge and got out the juice, knowing that the glasses were in the cabinets right above Eren’s head.

Without a word and _totally_ nonchalantly, Levi walked up behind him and reached above his head to get a glass, making sure to very intentionally press his hips against Eren's ass in the process.

“W-why are you hard _again?”_ Eren asked, completely in disbelief. “Why? _How?”_

Hearing the genuine disappointment in Eren’s voice made Levi question his response. “. . . Sorry.”

“No . . . it’s okay,” Eren said, and tried to focus on mixing the batter for a second time.

Eren wasn'tgoing to get aroused again, but knowing that he was living with someone that got so turned on by him just standing around in a floury apron trying to mix ingredients was both reassuring _and_ a complete nuisance. However tonight, it was _only_ a nuisance, and Levi began pushing his luck one more time.

“You look so beautiful in the kitchen. Like an angel.”

“Levi . . .”

“I love you.”

Eren wanted to die of embarrassment at the kind words. “I love you too . . . gonna get that cup for the juice?”

“The juice was just an excuse to touch you. The jug is empty anyways.”

“I’m going to kill you in your sleep.”

“You’re cute when you threaten me.”

Eren giggled and turned around in Levi’s arms, abandoning his work for _only_ a moment. “I’m just kidding. I’d never kill you. I think about it, but I’ll never do it.”

“Brat,” Levi hissed playfully, leaning down to bite Eren’s neck in retaliation. Eren squealed and pulled him closer, leaving Levi to wonder if he was going to get lucky once again.

“You smell good. Did you shower?” Levi asked.

The huskiness in his voice was telling of his mood and Eren shifted uncomfortably in his arms, cursing himself for getting into this trap. Really, he should be better at resisting Levi by now. Their relationship was still sort of new, however that was no excuse for Eren not be able to say no, even if Levi looked like a hurt animal when he did.

“You _know_ I have to bake this cake,” Eren whispered, using every last fiber in his body to resist and say his piece. “If there’s any part of you that cares about Hanji getting this cake, on time and perfect tomorrow, you will leave me alone. I’m asking you to make a choice here, Levi.”

Levi’s hands were already underneath Eren’s apron and in his pants by the time Eren finished his offer, and Levi briefly paused to consider it. He wasn’t opposed to Hange having a birthday cake made by Eren . . . well, actually, that wasn’t true. Levi _loathed_ the fact that Eren was slaving away in the kitchen for someone other than him. No one else should be allowed to eat food made by Eren’s hands because Eren belonged to him. Of course, Levi could never say that out loud because he knew such thoughts were inappropriate and that Eren wouldn’t appreciate the possessiveness, but that didn’t change the fact that he felt that way!

And he didn’t care who had a problem with it, because if they got in his way then he would just destroy them. No, it wasn’t as if Hange was a threat to him. They were his friend and Levi cared about their wellbeing and happiness obviously, but he cared about his own more. Right now his cock was rock hard, practically  _screaming_ to be inside of Eren.

Sorry Hange: he had priorities!

Instead of answering, Levi continued with his assault, pushing Eren’s pants and underwear down for the second time that day and having his way with him once again. Eren moaned softly when Levi forced him to turn back around, pinning him to the counter. A couple of firm taps along his inner thighs told Eren to spread his legs, and as though he was under a spell, he complied. Levi dropped to his knees behind him, eyes traveling up and down the backs of Eren’s beautiful, toned and taut legs. There wasn’t a blemish upon that tawny skin beckoning him forward, and that’s what Levi did, licking his way along Eren’s thighs until he reached the heated area between his legs. Levi didn’t miss Eren’s flinch of surprise as he roughly spread Eren’s cheeks, staring hungrily at the quivering hole awaiting his tongue. Without giving Eren a chance to whine about being self-conscious, he dove forward, pressing his tongue roughly against Eren’s opening. Eren writhed and squirmed, even _with_ Levi holding his hips firmly, but he didn’t dare stray away from Levi’s vicious tongue attack.

Trying to push the bowl of batter away lest it become contaminated, Eren allowed his forehead to drop noisily onto the countertop and his jaw to slacken. Looking down he could see Levi’s arm feverishly jerking his own cock and it made Eren keen in approval, proud and exhilarated over his mate deriving arousal from eating him out. The thought made Eren blush and he wondered if it was normal to get so excited over Levi being on his knees, servicing him with his tongue in this sort of setting.

“Ohhh . . . Levi,” Eren whined quietly, his body aching to twist and move around to release some of that building pressure. “F-feels good . . .”

Levi immediately recognized that sheepish tone in Eren’s voice and it excited him to no end. The pressure in his balls was building considerably at this point, but cumming anywhere outside of Eren simply wasn’t an option. He could definitely stay face buried between Eren’s ass cheeks, smelling and tasting Eren’s asshole like some kind of wild animal forever, and even though Eren’s legs were shaking and he looked like he was on the verge of collapse, Levi didn’t let up. He abandoned his own cock in favor of spreading those tan globes further apart so that he could press his tongue flat against Eren’s sopping wet hole, grinning wolfishly when Eren looked back at him, teary eyed and open mouthed.

Nervously, Eren’s tongue darted out to lick his lips and he swallowed, wondering what Levi was possibly going to do next. He was just staring at him with that predatory gaze that made Eren’s heart beat wildly in his chest and his cock stand to attention. Whimpering like a frightened animal, Eren quickly turned back around to hide his blushing face when Levi stood behind him and pressed the tip of his cock against his opening. He slid in easily and fluidly, burying himself to the hilt in one quick motion. Eren moaned at the fullness inside of him, trying to stay upright as Levi rolled his hips in and out of him, slowly and deliberately.

 _“Fuck_ Eren . . .” Levi groaned, watching himself sink in and out of Eren with more focus and attention than he’d ever given anything in his life. Not only was Levi was being mindful that Eren was probably still sore from their earlier excursion, but even he didn’t have the energy to give it to Eren hard and fast like he wanted to. Still, his body craved Eren like a drug and he wouldn’t be satisfied until Eren was milking him for all he had and _begging_ for it too.

 _“Levi,”_ Eren groaned back, clenching his fists and teeth because he knew he was about to cum without his dick being touched for the second time that day. Feeling Levi’s muscular chest pressing against his back, having his hot breath in his ear, and feeling those strong hands holding onto his hips simply aroused Eren to hell and back. His body jerked involuntarily, readying him for that dizzying sensation to consume him once more, and Eren could hear a snarl rip from Levi’s throat once he clenched around him. Eren’s legs felt weak and a sob fell from his lips as another orgasm was forced out of him, his body shaking from the intensity.

Shortly after Eren Levi followed suit, feeling the need to use one arm to brace himself against the counter as Eren’s tight channel sucked him dry. He breathed heavily on the back of Eren’s neck, tongue darting out to lap up the thin sheen of sweat that had formed in the midst of their lovemaking. A small _plop_ was made as something dripped onto the floor, and when Levi looked down to see his own cum leaking out Eren he had to bite his lip to keep from getting aroused again.

Eren wouldn’t forgive him if he tried to fuck him for a third time tonight . . . or today rather.

“Eren?” Levi asked, and then looked at the clock on the microwave before paling. “Eren, it’s five o’clock in the morning. You’d better work fast.”

When Eren slowly turned around to look at him out of the corner of his eye, Levi recognized this as the monster Eren was talking about . . . and it _definitely_ wasn’t adorable.

* * *

“For me??” Hange asked, trying to act surprised when they walked into a room filled with their coworkers in party hats, gifts, streamers, and a beautifully complex looking yellow cake with chocolate frosting sitting on a white cake stand. “You all shouldn’t have!”

“We had too,” Erwin said kindly, ushering Hange further into the room. “Our team goes all out for someone’s birthday – you ought to know this by now.”

“Well, I _had_ to act surprised,” Hange chuckled. “Or else it would have been underwhelming. And Eren, I see you hiding in that corner over there! Come here my precious!!”

Eren zoomed forward into Hange’s arms, hugging them with all the strength he could muster from a night of no sleep. He hadn’t really been hiding in the corner either – if anything, he was trying to sneak in a quick three-second power nap before Hange walked in.

“I haven’t seen you in forever!”

“Hanji, it’s only been a couple of weeks.”

Hange pulled away from Eren and smoothed his hair down in that familiar matronly way of theirs. “I know, but I’ve been eager to know how your classes are going.”

“I changed my major!” Eren told them excitedly, unsure as to why he kept this information from Hanji so long.

“You did??”

“Yup! To human resources! Because I want to grow up to be just like you, Hanji!”

Hange squealed at the news, thinking that _this_ was the best birthday present they could have gotten. “Eren, that’s amazing! I can’t believe it! How did Levi take the news?”

When Eren just smiled happily at them, Hange knew that they weren’t supposed to be asking about Levi. Immediately the feeling that he’d done something wrong washed over them, and as they looked around the room and spotted him standing guiltily alone, they knew for sure.

 _Oh Grumpy_ , Hange thought fondly, eagerly slicing a piece of cake. _When am I going to stop holding your hand through this?_

“So . . .” Eren asked sheepishly, kicking his foot absentmindedly against the ground. “Petra didn’t come?”

Hange shrugged. “She actually had a family emergency happen a couple of days ago and she had to take off from work for the rest of the week.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t worry, Eren. She’s not a threat anymore.”

“N-no, I know!” Eren said, not wanting Hange to get the wrong idea. “I mean . . . I’d eventually like to talk to her and make amends . . . or something.”

Hange smiled softly. “You don’t have to do that, although that’s very nice of you.”

“I _want_ to . . .”

“Well, before you do that, can you tell me why Grumpy is standing in the corner like a kicked puppy?”

Seeing Eren roll his eyes so hard made Hange wonder if they really _were_ going to have to hold Levi’s hand through this next apology.

“He just annoyed me all night long and because of him neither of us got any sleep,” Eren explained. “I almost didn’t even finish your cake! I was literally icing it and getting dressed at the same time.”

“What was he doing??”

“What he does best . . .” Eren mumbled, a dark blush spreading across his cheeks and down his neck. “I’m not really mad, but I told him to pick between his own pleasure and your cake, and _obviously_ he chose himself . . . so entitled.”

Hange wasn’t even offended for a moment. Instead, they just smiled and offered Eren a comforting pat on the shoulder. “I wouldn’t expect any less from him you know.”

“I know . . . and actually Hanji, maybe we can just continue to pretend to be angry at him? He deserves to feel a little humility.”

“I see,” Hange chuckled, admiring Eren’s deviousness. “What should I tell him when he inevitably texts me and asks for assistance?”

Eren initially told them to surprise him, though he quickly backtracked. "Don’t tell him to do anything too serious because I’m sure you know by now that he takes everything literally.”

“Speaking of taking things _too_ literally,” Hange murmured, motioning to the right.

Eren turned to see Levi staring daggers into them, fuming at being left out of the conversation and not knowing what was going on. He had a pretty good idea of what Levi was thinking, and while Eren didn’t like to torture him, it was so fun to make him angry. Leaning over to Hanji’s ear, he pretended to whisper something and they both fake laughed, loudly and obnoxiously.

The result? Levi stormed out of the room and Eren felt his heart break for him even though he was now seriously laughing about it.

“Okay, go get him before he locks us all in the building and sets it on fire,” Hange said playfully.

Eren nodded and started to leave the room, but before he went, he made Hanji promise to stop by the apartment after work so that he could tell them all about his change of major and the new classes he was taking in depth. 

And subsequent to Hanji's promise, Eren went off in search of sensitive, yet totally loveable boyfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, in anticipation of school starting back, I'm going to start updating on Sundays! For anyone wondering, I'm a senior in college! :')


	25. Chapter 25

“The results are in and they are _hot,”_ Eren announced, holding the crisp manila envelope securely in his hands. “Seriously, want to touch them? They really _are_ hot.”

“Knock it off, Eren,” Mikasa scolded him. “It’s not funny.”

Eren poked out his bottom lip in response to the scolding. “I’m not trying to be funny. But . . . I _am_ trying to lighten up the mood . . .”

Neither Mikasa or Levi had spoken much ever since they went to pick up the results and it confused Eren because he wanted them to be more excited about this. They were about to find out what could potentially be life changing news! Eren was aware that Levi didn’t want to get his hopes up, but he wasn’t sure what Mikasa’s problem was. He was wondering if she thought that he would hate her if she shared a close familial bond with Levi, although he’d told her a thousand times already that he wouldn’t . . .

However, he took the hint and grew quiet, sinking further into Levi’s side, waiting for Mikasa to approve of his plan of telling their parents. Obviously they would have to know, and even though Eren had technically been disowned, he was still going to walk right up in there like he owned the place and read the results. His parents were going to hear the truth no matter how much they didn’t want to. After that, he would give them time to think about what they wanted to do with said news and if he didn’t like their answer, Eren would spend the rest of the night talking them into accepting Levi as part of the family. All of that time he’d spent in the office working with Hanji, all of that time he’d spent helping Levi through his emotional issues, and even the time he’d put into Jean’s relationship with Marco (which by the way, was a success) had led him to _this_ moment. He’d always been the more resilient and argumentative kid when it came to his family, but instead of bickering with them like a child, Eren was prepared to break out the pure logic and reason.

He wouldn’t lie and say he wasn’t nervous: he _definitely_ was. While Eren would pick Levi in the end, he wanted both his family _and_ Levi. He wanted his family _for_ Levi as well, because even though Levi would die without ever telling him this, he knew that Levi craved a family unit and wanted to belong somewhere.

Meanwhile, Levi was thinking similar thoughts, however his mind kept drifting back to Mikasa being his daughter and what that would mean. After thinking about it all week and narrowing down the possibilities, he was pretty sure he’d arrived upon the woman that could potentially be her mother. Unfortunately for Mikasa, he had absolutely no idea where she could be and he didn’t even know her last name. Levi was secretly hoping that she just wouldn’t ask him about it, but he had a feeling she eventually would if she turned out to be his daughter.

 _Daughter_ . . . he sincerely wasn’t too sure how he felt about her being related to him in that way. He wasn’t opposed to it, yet he didn’t want it to be true. He wasn’t exactly indifferent towards it either, so how did he _really_ feel? Sure, it would be great to have a family member, but the more of a relation she shared with him, the guiltier he felt about not being there for her. Levi _never_ contemplated having kids for himself **ever,** so he wasn’t sure why he was thinking so hard about everything he’d missed concerning her life. He’d missed out on her first words, her first steps, taking her to her first day of school, helping her with her homework, throwing a birthday party for her, buying her toys, tucking her into bed at night, and a bunch of other shit that made his skin crawl if he thought about it too hard.

Of course, all of those moments had passed and were over and done with, and there was no use harping over them. Besides, he was glad that Mikasa had been taken care of by good people (even if they hated him) who’d instilled good morals within her. If anyone deserved to be there during her first moments as a baby, toddler, preteen, and teenager, it was them. At least he could be there now during her adult years if she really _was_ his kid.

He also knew that for some reason Eren wanted them to be father and daughter, which completely confounded him. Out of all of the possible relationships they could share, why _that_ one? He hoped Eren didn’t think that the closer the relation they shared, the more willing his parents would be to accept him into the family, since Levi believed the opposite and for good reasons as well. Eren’s parents probably wouldn’t hate him so much if they were only third cousins or something, because if he were Mikasa’s father they would probably feel as though he’d try to sue for parental rights and take her away from them. First of all, he didn’t even think he could do that since they legally adopted her, and second of all, he’d **never.**

Levi wasn’t a fucking dad (he was probably too selfish for proper parenthood anyways) and he fully expected Grisha to continue his role as Mikasa’s father. If the test results didn’t work out in his favor, on paper he may be her father, but Levi knew first hand that sharing paternal DNA with someone didn’t make _anyone_ a father. After all, he’d never met his father, and the closest thing he’d ever had to a father was an uncle, and Levi certainly didn’t call _him_  'father'. He didn’t even call him 'uncle'. All his life he’d been referred to as Kenny and that was it. As far as Levi was concerned, he didn’t even have parents.

Thus, if Levi told Eren’s parents anything, he was going to tell them that he wouldn’t interfere in their parenting, regardless of the relation he shared with Mikasa. If they never wanted to see him again after finding out the results then fine, but he was at least going to let them know that they didn’t have to be afraid of him . . . and if they _really_ rejected him like the assholes he knew they could be, then Levi wouldn’t waste any time chewing them out about their treatment of Eren. Both Eren _and_ Mikasa were innocents in the entire situation, and for them to treat one of their children kindly and turn their back on the other was sickening to him. Levi really didn’t get it. How the hell could parents just turn their backs on their own flesh and blood?

Now, obviously had he known that he’d fathered a child at fifteen he would have _attempted_ – albeit, very lousily – to take care of it until he either felt like he had to give it away to keep them safe or they were taken away from him by force. But he’d _never_ walk away: he knew what it felt like to be walked out on.

In the end, he was hoping that Mikasa was just a half-sibling or maybe even a niece. Actually, he wasn’t really hoping for anything because he didn’t want to get disappointed, but _any_ relationship was preferred over a father/daughter one . . .

“So . . .” Mikasa said, breaking the silence and commanding the attention in the room. “Should I call a meeting?”

“Yes!” Eren shouted. “What are you waiting for?!”

“I don’t know . . . this is hard. I don’t know how they’re going to react.”

“It has to be done, Mikasa. Do you want to go ahead and read the results here and then go tell Mom and Dad later today?”

“No,” Levi said quickly. He didn’t know _why_ he was opposed to hearing the results right now . . . perhaps he just wanted to delay finding out for as long as he could.

“Oh my God,” Eren groaned, lifting the envelope to his nose and inhaling deeply. “I want to open it so bad . . .”

“We know brat,” Levi chuckled. “Be patient.”

“Then I’ll text Mom,” Mikasa announced. “She’ll be more receptive to the situation anyways . . . I’m just worried about Dad.”

“I’m not,” Eren scoffed. “I’m fired up and ready to make my case. Court is in session – paternity court that is.”

“Full of jokes today, are you?” Levi asked.

“I just don’t know why the mood is so heavy in here,” Eren said. “You’re both acting like someone's died. No matter what the test results say, I’m not walking away from this unless we get a good ending. I feel like you’re hiding something from each other and that’s why you’re so uneasy, but I promise that you that don’t have anything to hide or be afraid of. I know what you both want deep down, okay? And guess what? You want the same thing so lighten up.”

Mikasa and Levi exchanged emotionless glances while Eren got up and headed to the door, no longer waiting for his mother to respond and approve of the meeting.

“Also,” Eren added. “I don’t know how much DNA you two share, but you’re both related. Sorry, but it’s not a coincidence that you do the same thing with empty cartons and jugs.”

Mikasa smiled and watched Levi roll his eyes. “It’s a good thing he bugs you about it now and not me.”

“Whatever. Brat acts like he doesn’t have any annoying habits that piss me off.”

“When am I ever annoying, Levi?!” Eren asked, offended at the very notion. “I’m perfect and you know it!”

“ . . .”

“Exactly. I rest my case.”

Even though Eren was acting like an arrogant little shit, Levi was pretty proud of himself in that very moment. After all, he was able to stop himself from impulsively telling Eren that he was the most annoying person on the planet when he tried to sing because he sounded like a dying animal. Levi felt bad about it, but it was true – Eren couldn’t even _hum_ something in tune much less sing it in tune.

“Let’s go,” Eren demanded. “We’re wasting time.”

Knowing that they couldn’t avoid the situation any longer, both Mikasa and Levi stood to follow Eren out of Levi’s apartment. The showdown was about to begin . . .

* * *

Eren didn’t allow them to sit in an awkward silence for long. After waiting patiently for his father to fumble around upstairs and avoid them for as long as he could, Eren attempted to break the tense atmosphere with an introduction.

“So –

“Just read them,” his father interrupted, refusing to hear an explanation. “I don’t care. Just read them.”

“No way am I reading them that fast!” Eren yelled. “You’re _totally_ pissed! I can hear it in your voice! I’m not reading anything until I _know_ you’re not going to freak out at what you may hear!”

“I’m just going to leave if you don’t read them!”

“You’re not allowed to do that either!”

“Then what do you want!?”

“I want you to listen to me!” Eren said and then turned his attention to his mother who was being awfully quiet. “You too, Mom!”

His mother looked taken aback at hearing him yell at her, but Eren didn’t have the time to apologize.

“No more bullshit. You both need to understand that regardless of how Levi and Mikasa are related, nothing about your relationship with us is going to change,” Eren explained, hoping his words were making an impact. His father was just sitting there looking bored (but probably seething on the inside) and his mother looked visually upset as if she too had just been told that someone close to her died.

“And I don’t need to hear an explanation as to why you’re both upset. I get it. You’re afraid that if Levi happens to be Mikasa’s father, he’ll somehow take her away but that’s not true.”

“He already took _you_ away . . .” Grisha mumbled bitterly.

“No, he didn’t! I’m right here, aren’t I??”

“You moved out!”

“You _kicked_ me out!”

“You were supposed to change your mind and say that you wanted to stay here after all! Eren, don’t you get it?! It hurts for your child to leave with some random man who could be the father of the remaining child you have left!”

“I _do_ get it!” Eren insisted. “I get it perfectly! I know what you’re afraid of and I promise you that you don’t have to be afraid!”

His father looked unconvinced, so Eren continued. “By the way, you don’t have any right to be upset with Levi, because he didn’t even know Mikasa existed. If he did, he wouldn’t have abandoned her. Instead of demonizing him for attempting to come back into her life, you should be welcoming him with open arms. They both desire to have a blood related family member, and even if they _do_ end up being related, again, you don’t have to worry.”

“I know who my parents are,” Mikasa chimed in. “It’s both of you, Mom and Dad.”

“Mikasa . . .” their mother said quietly, voice wavering as she tried not to cry.

“Well, I still don’t get,” her husband sighed. “Eren, why him? Out of all of the people you could have in the world, why _him??_ You _know_ he probably has a hundred kids running around out there, right?”

Levi wanted to argue that point _so_ badly, but he had no evidence to offer as contrary. It pissed him off too, because he knew what point Eren’s father was trying to make and it made perfect sense. For his sake though, he hoped that Grisha would just shut up and not continue.

“What will you do if one, two, three, four, or even five more kids show up over the course of your lifetime with him, demanding DNA tests to see if Levi is their father? It could happen and it probably will. This situation right now is evidence that children, no matter how nice of a home and environment they’re raised in, will do anything in their power to seek out their _true_ birth parents.”

 _This old fuck_ , Levi thought bitterly, hating that Grisha had gone exactly where Levi hadn’t wanted him to go. And even if he was right, he had no business speaking so familiarly about his life. He knew _nothing_ about him, so all of his claims were based on assumptions anyways! Besides, Grisha was making it seem as though he purposefully went around trying to impregnate as many women as possible when he was a teenager, and that simply wasn’t the case. Levi’s intentions had never been malicious. If he’d been better educated about sex he would have **most definitely** wore condoms. In fact, if he’d known about STD’s he probably wouldn’t have even had sex at all!

“First of all, I love Levi and he loves me and I don’t care if he’s fathered _five_ hundred kids,” Eren said factually. “Secondly, if someone _does_ come knocking on our door asking for a DNA test, I’ll deal with that when or if it happens. And three, I think it’s very irresponsible to use such a condescending tone to talk about the situation we’re in right now as being ‘proof’ that kids will do everything in their power to seek out their birth parents, regardless of how kind and caring their adoptive parents are. Mikasa already said that she knows you and Mom are her parents. Don’t you think it makes her feel bad to hear you portray kids that want to find their birth parents as ungrateful and unappreciative??”

Eren spoke with so much authority and wisdom just now that even Levi felt like he needed to go and stand in the corner as a punishment – and he hadn’t even done anything wrong!

“Mikasa,” Grisha said, his tone now clearly desperate. “Did I make you feel bad?”

Mikasa didn’t need to say anything since the look on her face made it very obvious as to how she felt. Of _course_ it made her feel bad, and it was one of the reasons why she initially ignored the truth for so long. She _did_ feel guilty for wanting to know if Levi was a blood related family member, because even if he was, it shouldn’t matter since she had all the family she needed right here. Still, she couldn’t ignore that aching feeling within her that wanted to know.

All Mikasa wanted was for her family to grow even larger, and while she knew the potential problems it posed and how it might make her parents feel, her motivations were completely innocent. Because of this, she didn’t _feel_ like a monster or a bad child, but she wasn’t unaware of what her parents thought of her for wanting Levi in their lives. And her parents’ opinion mattered _so much_ to her. These were the people that had raised her and she always wanted to please them as much as she could! But at the same time, should she ignore her own wishes and desires??

Why was this so hard?!

“I’m sorry if I made you feel bad, Mikasa,” her father said, his apology quickly catching her attention. “I didn’t mean it. That’s the last thing I wanted, _honestly.”_

“Dad, be happy for her that she mustered up the courage to go through with this,” Eren said. “What if it were you? What if _you_ were adopted and then had the chance to find out if someone else was related to you?? Wouldn’t you want to know?? And imagine that instead of your parents being excited for you, they made you feel like a shitty kid who was betraying them in favor of someone they just met? I mean, I know the subject is extra sensitive because Levi and I are dating, but come on!”

“Okay,” his father sighed, relaxing into couch, eyes closed as if truly exhausted. “You don’t have to keep lecturing me, Eren: I _get_ it.”

“I’m very proud of you, Eren,” his mother added. _“Very_ proud.”

“So everyone’s cool with Levi?”

“Uh, _no,”_ his father said quickly. “Not quite.”

“Well, I’m not cool with you either,” Levi growled lowly. He didn’t care if he was about to blow this whole thing – he’d had enough of Grisha’s _bullshit._ “Hate me all you want, but I’m here for the long haul. While I’m not giving Eren back to you, I won’t show my face around here ever again if that’s what you want.”

“Whoa, Levi,” Eren said, placing his hand on Levi’s shoulder to tell him that that was enough.

“All my life I’ve gotten walked out on by family members and I know how that shit feels. It fucking sucks, so if Mikasa is related to me, I request that you give up just a _little_ of your time with her so that I can get to know her and make memories with her as well.”

“Levi –

“And if she’s not related to me, no harm no foul. Things can return to normal, but I don’t want you poisoning Eren’s mind and trying to make him feel guilty like you did to her. You’ve only got two kids and you should do your best to accommodate both of them. Don’t make mistakes. Enjoy life on earth with them, because once you’re dead, you’re fucking dead and that’s it.”

“Levi, seriously chill –

“And this couch is _ugly._ Whoever picked out it is a fucking lunatic.”

“ _I_ picked that couch!” Grisha yelled angrily. “I was considering your advice until that last comment! You can’t come into my home and tell me how to be a parent _and_ insult my decorating!”

“I’m not telling you how to be a parent!” Levi refuted. “I’ll _never_ tell you how to be a parent – I’ve never parented before and I don’t have any experience to draw from to ever tell someone else how to be a father. I’m not interested in taking your place, Grisha. Keep Mikasa on your insurance, rent a hotel room for her and all of her shitty friends to drink in on her twenty-first birthday, walk her down the aisle, help her buy her first house, be grandparents to her kids: I don’t give a _shit!_ All I want is a little time with her if she ends up being related to me, and if she’s not, I’ll fuck off forever! Get it?!”

“We understand,” Carla said, slapping her hand over her husband’s mouth before he could fire back. “We won’t fight about this anymore. I think we’re all on the same page here.”

Well, Levi felt like he could go on forever about what an asshole Grisha was, but as soon as he opened his mouth again Eren pinched him and Levi knew it was time to be quiet.

“If I read these,” Eren said, and held up the envelop for emphasis. “And Mikasa and Levi related, what happens?”

“We encourage them to spend time together and we all get along,” his mother answered, removing her hand from her husband’s mouth. “Right, dear?”

“ . . . Right,” the older man muttered.

“And if I read these and they _aren’t_ related, what happens?”

“Well,” Carla said thoughtfully. “I still want to welcome Levi as a part of this family. After all, if things go accordingly he'll be our son-in-law one day, won’t he?”

Grisha looked extremely offended at the notion, gasping dramatically. _“What??”_

“Tch. If you don’t want me it’s fine,” Levi said. “I don’t care.”

Eren grabbed Levi’s hand, but avoided pitying him too much in front of his parents. He knew that Levi would get over not being included in his family, however it would obviously still hurt him.

“No, we _do_ want you,” Mikasa corrected, finally speaking up. “We do. I promise.”

“Well, all I need is Eren,” Levi insisted. “That’s it.”

“Aw Levi,” Eren cooed, curling up into his side and nuzzling his face into his chest. Levi wrapped his arm around him in response and Eren sighed blissfully, now wishing that they were back home in bed so that he could enjoy Levi to the fullest.

 _“Okay,”_ Grisha sighed, trying not to hurl one of the throw pillows that was beside him on his _ugly_ couch at the pair. “Just read the paper.”

“Right,” Eren said, slowly opening the packet in front of everyone.

He was purposefully dragging it out to be as climactic as possible, but even _he_ couldn’t drag it out for too long. After all, Eren was probably the most excited of them all to hear the results.

“Any last words?”

No one said anything, although his parents both looked exhausted and Mikasa was staring at him patiently and inquisitively. Eren would never know it, but her heart was beating wildly in her chest and she could feel her palms start to sweat.

“Don’t get your hopes up,” Levi told her, but Mikasa refused to listen to such language and even shook her head in protest.

“I want this . . .” she begged quietly, staring back at Levi with sad eyes. “Please tell me you want this too . . .”

Levi still wasn’t sure, though he _really_ felt bad for Mikasa, staring right through him with that hopeful yet fearful gaze. In this moment, she looked more like a child than ever . . . possibly even his own child.

At first, Eren read the paper silently, scanning it for his own benefit before revealing anything major.

“Well??” Mikasa asked.

Eren smiled and nodded. “Yup. You’re related.”

“That’s enough . . .” she said, surprising everyone in the room. “We don’t need to know how. Let’s just leave it at that.”

“You’re sure??” her mother asked her. “Your father and I don’t mind if you want to know how Levi is related to you.”

When Mikasa didn’t say anything, her father verbally confirmed this, and if she replayed that sentence in her head she almost swore he sounded as though he actually _wanted_ her to find out. And sure, in the beginning she did want to know. Her parents acting so suspicious, learning the true story behind how she arrived at the orphanage, and then finding out how many strange personality quirks she and Levi shared made her want to know even more. However, after all the waiting, the hoping, the praying . . . finding out that they were related at all became enough for her. She almost felt greedy for wanting to know more. Besides . . . it didn’t really matter how they were related, did it? Levi was family now and further discussion was unnecessary.

“If you don’t want to know, then I’m fine with it,” Levi said.

“What?!” Eren asked, eyes darting wildly around the room. “So _no_ one wants to know the _real_ truth?! Seriously?! All this for _nothing?!”_

Mikasa frowned. “It’s not nothing. I wanted the DNA test to see if Levi and I were related and I got the answer.”

“But –

“Brat,” Levi interrupted. “If she doesn’t want to know, then she doesn’t want to know. Let it go.”

 _“You_ don’t want to know??” Eren asked him.

“I know enough. And it’s better this way.”

Eren looked around the room for help and once he met his father’s eyes he knew right away that he wasn’t going to get any assistance from him.

“I agree,” his father said calmly. “Let’s just move on from here. And Levi . . . you’re welcome into our family if you’ll have us.”

Levi didn’t know what to say to that so he just nodded stiffly in response. He honestly couldn’t believe what he’d heard. That was it? He was welcomed just like that? After _everything_ he’d said to the man? Including dissing his couch??

“And we won’t ask any questions,” Grisha continued, “About where you came from or your roots.”

“Agreed,” Carla said happily. “I think some things are better left unsaid.”

Eren looked upset at the way the conversation turned out, but upon realizing that he’d lost, he let it go. Well, even if _they_ didn’t want to know, at least _he_ knew. And in the end, they were right about it not changing anything. Eren’s true motivation for all of this went beyond Levi and Mikasa being related – in the end, he’d wanted his parents to accept Levi as his boyfriend and as a part of the family, and that’s what he’d gotten.

“Okay . . .” Eren said firmly. “I won’t say anything.”

Mikasa smiled. “Good. Thanks Eren.”

“And you know, even though Levi _is_ your birth father I suppose it doesn’t really matter. Since things have turned out so great I’m fine with taking the secret to my grave.”

“EREN!?!?!?!?!?!?!”

It took Eren a good fifteen seconds after hearing his name yelled collectively by everyone in the room to realize what he’d done, and he quickly covered his mouth with both hands as if that would erase what he just said. “Oops!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohhh Eren! xD


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE:
> 
> I'm not going to lie, I intended for this chapter to serve as the epilogue. I figured that I'd turn a lot of people off by dropping the Levi & Mikasa bombshell, and to tell you the truth, it was an intentional move on my part because I wanted to give myself an excuse to end this story and move on to something else.
> 
> I feel sad ending it here though, as I feel like there are a lot of roads and avenues that I set up to explore and never did. At the same time, I don't know how to move the story along without introducing more conflict, and I don't want to write just for the sake of writing, because then I'll feel like I'm boring people.
> 
> So . . . should I end it? And if not, would you feel comfortable if I continued it, but only through the use of chapters that serve as 'extras'? For example, the 'story' wouldn't necessarily continue, but the extra chapters would serve as snapshots into Levi and Eren's lives. 
> 
> Please let me know what you think in the comments! For now, enjoy this short epilogue as well as Chapter 26.5! It's something (basically an extra) I've wanted to write for a while, but didn't know how to introduce into the story.

Upon hearing a knock at the door, Eren got up excitedly to answer it knowing exactly who it was.

“Armin!” he shouted, wrapping his arms around his best friend and squeezing tightly. “I missed you!”

“You see me almost every day at school,” Armin chuckled, following Eren into the house. “It smells good in here.”

“Of course it does. You have to burn fall candles in the fall.”

“Duly noted.”

“Force Erwin to buy some fall candles. And you’ll _really_ have to force him because men think that burning candles is girly.”

Armin looked away for a moment before shrugging. “That’s kind of why I wanted to hang out today.”

Eren gasped. “. . . No.”

“Yeah . . .”

Stunned at the news, Eren sank down onto the couch, wondering which question to ask first. He wanted to be nosy and find out what _really_ happened, but at the same time he didn’t want to pressure Armin into talking about it in depth if he wasn’t ready yet.

“I can provide emotional support if you need it,” Eren said firmly, ignoring his urge to pry.

“Oh, I don’t need emotional support,” Armin chuckled, his tone light and unbothered. “It was a mutual break up. We’ve been broken up for about a week now.”

“Can I ask why you broke up?”

“Um . . . I feel like we were too similar? I mean, we always agreed with everything each other said, we share the same opinions, we want to do the same things, watch the same movies, eat the same food . . . it wasn’t exciting. You know, we never fought except for that time Erwin stuck his nose into _your_ relationship.”

“You _never_ fought??” Eren asked, eyebrows raised and eyes wide. “That’s incredible. Levi and I fight like ten times a day. We’re fighting right now!”

“I’m sure you don’t fight ten times a day, Eren. And I was wondering where he was . . .”

“He’s in our room,” Eren scoffed, standing up and walking over to the locked door. He leaned his shoulder against it and made sure to raise his voice knowing Levi could hear him from inside. “I decided to be nice and make him a strawberry cake early even though I was saving it for his birthday. Mikasa came over yesterday and when he found out that I cut her piece he got all upset over someone else eating some of _his_ cake.”

“Can’t even share with his own flesh and blood, huh?” Armin asked.

“Nope. Caught him in here last night trying to devour the _whole_ thing like some starving animal! I made him go back to bed when I caught him, but he ate over half of what was left!”

“Honestly, it’s kind of cute.”

“Oh it’s adorable, but it’s still unacceptable.”

“So . . . is there anymore?”

“Yes Armin,” Eren said loudly. “As a matter of fact, you can take the rest back with you.”

“You’re cruel, Eren,” Armin laughed, watching Eren go into the kitchen and wrap up the remaining bit of cake for him to take home. “But it looks really good, so I don’t mind taking it.”

“I’m going to bake Levi another cake and make him something to eat once you leave,” Eren revealed after lowering his voice. “He’s been shut up in there all day long and I know he must be starving by now.”

“Really? Then don’t let me get in your way.”

“No! I want to hear more gossip about Erwin!” Eren insisted eagerly. “Did he cry? Did he try to get back together with you? Did he offer to change?”

Armin shook his head. “Eren, I told you it was mutual.”

“Yeah but was it _really?”_

“I mean, on my end it was.”

“Then Erwin might be suffering! What if he didn’t want to end things?!”

“Things had already ended. It fizzled out. There was nothing that could be done.”

Eren respected Armin’s decision and listened to his words carefully, but it was still shocking to him because he couldn’t ever imagine himself getting tired of Levi. “I wonder if Erwin’s talked to Levi about it . . .”

“It’s possible,” Armin said. “I’m assuming Levi hasn’t said anything though.”

“Not a word. But, if you don’t want Erwin back then it’s whatever. Did you really come over here to tell me that?”

“Well, I was thinking we could like, go grab a late lunch and hang out or something, but if Levi needs food then you should just stay here.”

“What?!” Eren asked, watching Armin walk away from him. “You’re just going to abandon me like I’m some housewife from the fifties??”

“Like I said, we see each other every day at school,” Armin laughed. “We always eat lunch together!”

“But it’s not the same . . .”

“Yes it is. Make a really nice lunch for Mikasa and I and we’ll all hang out Monday. Let me go eat my cake in peace.”

“I feel like you wanna get away from me . . .”

Armin shrugged. “Well, you _do_ have Levi germs on you . . .”

“No I don’t . . .” Eren said sadly. “Actually . . . he hasn’t touched me all day . . .”

“Even more reason for me to leave.”

“Fine, you’re free to go, Armin. You know, you could stay and eat with us though.”

“Nah, I’m good,” Armin said, and then added, “Maybe I’ll go home and plan the wedding. Oh, and you’re going to want to be buried beside him, right? Should I go ahead and arrange the plots now or later?”

“Armin –

“Or maybe you can let me know after the baby’s born?”

Realizing that his friend was using the very same language Eren had once used against him, Eren thought carefully back to that conversation to figure out what to say next. “Now you’re just being ridiculous. We’re having twins.”

“See Eren? You were once so jealous of me but look at you now.”

“I know,” Eren chuckled, reaching down into the cabinets to pull out pots and pans. “Here I am, nineteen years old and slaving over a hot stove for my thirty-four-year-old boyfriend who’s locked himself in our bedroom on a Saturday afternoon. I’m living life in the fast lane, Armin.”

“Aw Eren, don’t act like you wouldn’t want to be here.”

Eren smiled fondly. “You’re right . . .”

* * *

He wasn’t sulking. Him? Sulk? Levi didn’t even know the meaning of the word. The very notion sounded foreign to him: he was _not_ being bad-tempered out of annoyance or disappointment . . . Besides, he’d gotten the hang of this GTA thing and he rather enjoyed driving around and running people over. Levi also liked to listen to the dialogue between the characters since he found the language and verbiage so familiar. Today just happened to be a day where he wanted to spend time alone, in his room, away from his lover. Everyone had those days after all. Levi loved Eren to death but sometimes that brat got on his nerves. For example, the scolding last night still weighed heavily on Levi’s mind. Okay, yeah, he _had_ tried to eat that entire cake at one in the morning. So what?? That was _his_ cake and he would eat it whenever he desired to! And no, he hadn’t necessarily gotten upset over Eren giving Mikasa some of it . . . what upset him was that he hadn’t approved of it first. Levi was learning to share his things with people other than Eren, but he hadn’t gotten to a point of where he felt comfortable allowing Eren to share his things in his stead.

Yes, _his_ things.

That cake was his because Eren made it _for him._ And it was fucking good too. Levi had never tasted something so delicious and moist and perfectly sweet in his life (other than Eren). Growing up he hadn’t enjoyed the most diverse diet, and things outside of canned meat and soups were a luxury to him. When he was a child an elderly woman who lived down the street from him kindly had him over for dinner almost every night, but she ended up dying and after that Levi was left to fend for himself. While he never necessarily went hungry, he wasn’t a fool and knew of pastries, cakes, cookies, and pies. He just had no way to get his hands on them as a child. Once he had a steady income and was able to afford them with ease, yes, they tasted good, but eating something made by Eren and _for_ him tasted even better. Levi didn’t feel bad for wanting to keep it all to himself either. If Eren didn’t want him to be possessive over it, he shouldn’t have presented it to him on a platter covered in flour and with that adorable grin on his face, saying, “I made it for you because you deserve it for being so good to me, Levi.” Wouldn’t anyone become possessive over a gift like that?! And then Eren had the nerve to give the remaining fifth away to Armin.

Of course, a normal sane person probably wouldn’t become so distraught over this, but this was torturous to Levi and it hurt his feelings. It wasn’t just a cake – it was something that his adorable boyfriend made for him out of love and now it was gone! Ugh, he _knew_ he should have ignored Eren and continued to shovel the rest of his cake down his throat last night! Yeah, he was ready to vomit, but that would have been better than having to live with the reality that someone else was eating _his_ gift! Eren probably wouldn’t care either! He’d probably laugh at him and tell him to get over it, that he could make him another cake for his birthday, and that he should learn to be less stingy. Levi would just have to grin and bear it too, because there was no way he was going to tell Eren that he was upset over this!

“Levi!”

The older man briefly looked over at the door before returning to the game. He felt bad for ignoring Eren, but right now he just wanted to be alone. Unfortunately, Eren’s sweet voice continued to call out to him.

“Levi, I know you’re sulking in there! Don’t you wanna come out? I bet you’re hungry.”

Damn. He _was_ hungry. But Levi wasn’t coming out – his pride wouldn’t let him.

“I made beef and broccoli and fried rice for you.”

Wow, that sounded good . . . ugh he really wanted to leave now! If he concentrated he could smell the food through the door and the aroma immediately made Levi's stomach growl and clench in anguish.

“Also, if you come out and eat, there _might_ be a surprise for you . . .”

A surprise?

“And it _might_ be waiting on the cake platter . . .”

Levi was out of the room so fast he could have teleported. Actually, he probably _did_ teleport because Eren seemed absolutely shocked to suddenly find himself in Levi’s arms. His natural instincts quickly took over though as he leaned his head back to finally kiss his boyfriend for the first time that day. Allowing Levi’s tongue to enter his mouth, Eren was not at all unaware of Levi’s gentle hold on his waist. After being separated from him all day Eren was honestly ready to be manhandled onto his hands and knees and fucked so hard and rough that the neighbors were banging on their door (again), but they both needed to eat.

“You thought I would give your cake away without making you another one?” Eren asked lovingly. “Even I’m not _that_ cruel. I know how much that cake meant to you and I didn’t mean to upset you by giving Mikasa some of it.”

A chill ran up Levi’s spine. Fuck, how did Eren know him so well? Now that he thought about it, how did Eren know that strawberry cake was his favorite? Wouldn’t it have been a safer bet just to go with vanilla?

“Yes Levi,” Eren answered seriously and slowly. “I know _everything_ about you . . .”

“Tch. I’m truly no match for you, am I?”

“You never had a chance.”

“You probably know what I’m thinking right now, huh?”

Eren looked pensive for a moment, as if channeling some psychic ability he had kept hidden away all this time. “Hmm . . . you’re thinking that you’re really hungry and you can’t wait to eat some of Eren’s beef and broccoli and then have tea and cake.”

Levi looked impressed, watching Eren light up when he thought he got it right. “Right, but you left one part out.”

“Oh yeah? What?”

Eren tried to prepare himself as Levi leaned down, pressing his mouth right up against his ear. His heart fluttered at the simple contact, and suddenly all Eren wanted was to curl up in Levi’s lap forever. Forget the food, the cake, and his hunger: Levi was all he needed.

“I love you.”

It had become much easier for Levi to say the words because the effect it had on Eren made it totally worth it. Without missing a beat Eren returned the words, staring up at Levi like an innocent angel, totally flattered as if he’d just received the greatest compliment one could ever get. Eren had really done it now, looking all pure and beautiful after having cooked for him and baked him a cake. Levi hoped Eren was ready to take on the responsibility of wearing a half a million-dollar diamond ring to school every day, because his brat was getting proposed to as soon as possible.

 

* * *

 

**Chapter 26.5**

 

“Thanks for helping me move, Eren,” Hange said, dropping to their knees to tape up a large box.

Eren smiled from his place in front of the bookshelf. “No problem, Hanji. Do you want me to pack up every single one of these books in the same box or do you want to go through any of them?”

“Umm . . . nah, just throw ‘em all in. I know I should be using this time to get rid of old stuff, but I just really want to get out of this apartment ya know?”

“I want you out of here too, Hanji!”

At his excitement Hange shot Eren an impish look. “So . . . have you told Levi where I’m moving?”

Eren returned the playful smile. “Nope. You know, he’s gonna flip when he finds out.”

“Right, which is why you need to tell him that _you_ want me there!”

“Oh I will! Besides, I’m gonna need a place to sleep when he inevitably pisses me off somewhere down the road and if you’re right next to us it’ll make things so much easier.”

“Aww, has Grumpy been upsetting you lately?”

“No, not at all! Actually, I don’t think either of us have recovered from being apart for those two weeks he went to Hong Kong . . .”

Eren looked longingly at the book he held in his hands and sighed. “I miss him . . . now I want to go back home!”

“Eren, you’ve been here for thirty minutes.”

“You’re right, but . . . he was standing at the door staring at me as I left this morning and now I feel bad because I just walked away like it was nothing! I need to text him!”

Hange rolled their eyes, but the smile on their face was indicative of their true feelings about Eren and Levi’s situation. Truly, they were grateful that Eren and Levi were still so in love after all this time. It had been pretty disturbing to watch Levi attempt to navigate a foreign country without Eren too. It wasn’t as if Levi was inept when it came to traveling, but his ego and attitude made Hange want to push him into oncoming traffic a few times. And it was all because Eren wasn’t there.

“You know,” Hange said, interrupting Eren in his texting battle. “I can’t believe you just threw that book down into that box without looking at it.”

“Sorry. I was distracted,” Eren murmured.

When Hange continued to stare suspiciously at him, Eren reached back into the box and pulled out the rather thin book. His mouth dropped open and he looked at Hanji, and then back at the book, and then back at Hanji, and then back at the book one last time before squealing. “Can I?!”

“Go ahead,” Hange chuckled, and Eren practically destroyed the yearbook in his frantic search for Levi.

Eren froze when he got to the right page, eyes wide and jaw slack as he stared at the photo. “I’m pregnant.”

Hange laughed, joining Eren’s side to look over his shoulder at the picture of their friend from eighteen years ago. “Aww, Grumpy _was_ pretty cute, wasn’t he? Even though he’s not smiling and looks like he wants to kill the photographer.”

“I wish I went to school with you guys,” Eren said fondly. “I feel like we all would have been great friends.”

“We absolutely would have been great friends,” Hange confirmed. “You would have fit right in with our awkward little group! And maybe Levi would have actually had a date to the end of year dances.”

“He never had a date?”

Hange shook their head, staring at Eren as if it was obvious. “Of course not! Erwin stole them all.”

“What?! That’s horrible!”

“Well, saying he ‘stole’ them probably isn’t the right way to put it.”

“What do you mean?”

“First of all, we have to start with her.”

Eren raised a brow. “Her?”

“Yes: the woman of Levi’s affection all throughout college,” Hange said, and flipped forward two pages. Their finger landed on the target almost immediately. “Here she is: Michaela Carter. She was a theater and philosophy double major.”

“Wow, she’s really pretty!”

“Indeed,” Hange said lowly, jamming their elbow into Eren’s side. “Remind you of anyone?”

“No. Is she supposed to?”

“Hmm, I’m not sure. She looks like a certain green-eyed cutie I know!”

“I don’t know anybody with eyes like that,” Eren said thoughtfully. “They’re beautiful.”

Hange frowned. “Eren! Don’t you see the resemblance?! Haven’t I told you a thousand times to look in the mirror?!”

“You think she looks like me?”

“She could be your twin sister!”

Eren shrugged. “I mean, I guess we kind of look alike, but that makes me sad. I don’t want Levi to associate me with her if she did something bad to him . . .”

“Oh, Levi hates her now,” Hange chuckled. “Don’t worry about that. I’m sure just mentioning her name would make his skin crawl. He would never associate you with her.”

“What did she do??”

“Well . . .”

**18 years ago . . .**

“Sooo . . .”

When Levi didn’t respond to them, Hange sighed loudly and peculiarly, trying to attract the attention of their best friend who shared a table with them. Levi remained hidden behind his laptop, pressing buttons and focusing on his work, so Hange’s obvious response was to accidentally close the screen.

“Oops! Did I do that?”

“Fuck off,” Levi huffed, opening his laptop back up. “If I lost everything I’ll kill you.”

“Levi, we’ve been studying for the past two hours! I want to talk to you!”

“Lower your voice, idiot. We’re in a library.”

“No one is even in here! And this is _really_ important!”

Levi looked miserable but decided to entertain Hange’s delusions for the time being. They wouldn’t stop pestering him if he didn’t.

“You’re gonna listen?” Hange asked hopefully, and when Levi just stared dully at them they continued. “So, you know how the freshman dance is coming up this weekend?”

“No.”

“Leviiiii, you _do_ know it’s coming up. Don’t try to pretend you haven’t been thinking about it.”

“Fuck you. You don’t know what I’m thinking about.”

“Yes I do! In fact, I’ve already helped you out because even though the dance is this weekend, I know for a fact that Michaela isn’t going with anybody.”

At the sound of her name, Levi grew extremely frazzled, doing his best to hide behind his laptop screen until he calmed down. But Hange violently shut it again and smiled evilly at his reddening face. They didn’t want to bully him, and smiling at Levi’s discomfort was a sure-fire way to upset him, but they just couldn’t it help themselves!

“Ask her!” Hange demanded. “Do it!

“Hell no,” Levi spat. “Forget it.”

“Why?? No one’s asked her! She wouldn’t dare say no!”

“Wrong. Just because she hasn’t said yes doesn’t mean no one else has asked her. Tch, not that I’d know.”

“Really? Other people have asked her to the dance?”

“Obviously . . . look at her.”

“Well, this is great! I mean, when I asked her if she was going to the dance she responded with these giant, puppy eyes and said ‘no’. She was all sad and depressed too . . . like she was just _waiting_ for someone to ask.”

“You talked to her??”

Hange continued to smile at Levi’s expression, probably looking like a psychopath to anyone else who might walk by and look at them. “Of _course_ I did. She’s a human just like you and I.”

“. . .”

“She’s really nice too. I can’t believe you’ve sat behind her in your personal finance class all year and you’ve never said anything to her.”

“Never had a reason to . . .”

“So you just stare at the back of her head all day fantasizing about her, huh? When all you’d have to do is walk up to her and ask her out.”

“Never,” Levi hissed. “Do you know how many guys have asked her out throughout the year? She always says no and just walks away as if she didn’t just ruin someone’s life. She’s a fucking bitch.”

Hange frowned. “Oh. I thought you liked her.”

“I do like her,” Levi sighed. “But pursuing her would be a waste of time. And even though a bitch like her isn’t out of my league, she clearly likes someone specifically.”

“Why do you keep calling her a bitch?”

Levi shrugged, showing a bit of remorse for the name calling. “I don’t know. I’m just pissed off because I want her and I can’t have her . . .”

“You _could_ have her,” Hange insisted. “If you just asked her.”

“Why are you so sure? I’m probably not even her type,” Levi said and then rolled his eyes. “She probably likes Erwin like every other fucking skank at this school.”

“Well, can you blame them? Let’s look at Erwin and then let’s look at you.”

“Why bother? There’s not much of a difference between us other than looks.”

“Oh Levi . . .” Hange murmured, running their fingers through their hair in exasperation. “You . . . don’t have much self-awareness, do you?”

Levi dared to raise a brow in total disbelief, not understanding how Erwin was any better than himself. “Explain.”

“Erwin can actually walk up to people and talk to them without insulting them. He always compliments the other person, and that’s something you could really learn to do, Levi. I know you think Michaela is very beautiful and you probably have a lot of nice things to say about her, but if you don’t actually tell her, then those thoughts mean absolutely nothing . . . you also need to learn empathy. When you insult someone or say something mean to them, it hurts them. Think about how you would feel if someone said something mean to you?”

“Tch. I don’t care what people think about me.”

“Well, other people aren’t like that . . . and look Levi . . . it hurts me to say this, but you’re a total narcissist.”

“Wrong.”

Hange watched Levi shut down before them, wondering how they were going to get through to him. Admittedly, they probably shouldn’t be attempting to diagnose Levi with anything after only taking a couple of psychology classes, but Levi was a special case. Not only was he their friend, but Hange just wanted him to be happy . . . and they knew he liked Michaela, so why not push him to do something about it?

“Levi, you can’t change what you don’t acknowledge.”

“Okay, Dr. Phil. Anything else you want to tell me?”

Hange shrugged. “Do you want to get laid or do you want to spend the weekend listening to Erwin talk about getting laid?”

Levi rolled his eyes so Hange continued. “So just to be clear, you’re not going to ask her? Even though you have nothing to lose? You’re going to let your fear of rejection hold you back, huh?”

“I’m not scared of getting rejected, idiot.”

“Then ask her to the dance!”

“Fine!”

Hange gasped. “Really?”

Levi sighed, and after thinking about the situation he narrowed his eyes at the eccentric weirdo across from him who always followed him around and refused to leave him alone, almost daring _Hange_ to change _their_ mind.

“Do you know how pissed I’m going to be if she tells me no?”

“She’s not going to tell you no because you’re super adorable when you’re not scowling. Just ask her out nicely and you’ll be fine.”

“This isn’t a date,” Levi said quickly, perhaps to keep from psyching himself out.

“What do you mean? Is asking someone out on a date different than asking them out to a dance?”

“Obviously. Dates are more serious . . .”

“Ohhh I see. So your gonna ask her out on a date if the dance goes well?” Hange giggled.

“Yeah. Got a problem with it?”

“No! Don’t get all defensive! I want this for you, Levi! I swear!”

“I want it too.”

“Hmm . . . so tell me what you like most about her!” Hange teased. “Is it her smile, or maybe her curly hair, or maybe her tan skin, or maybe her beautiful green eyes?”

“Her eyes are more complex than just green . . .”

“Been studying them huh? Probably from the front row of the auditorium since you go to _all_ of her plays?”

“Fuck off,” Levi said, standing up and beginning to neatly place everything into his bag. “I’m going back to my room. I need to study.”

“No wait! Let’s go!”

“Go where?”

“Go and ask her to the dance.”

Levi instantly froze, heart thumping as the reality of what Hange suggested dawned on him. There was no way he could ask her now. He wasn’t mentally prepared. In fact, it would probably take him a few days to even gather the mental reserves to ask her!

“No way.”

“Levi, the dance is in two days!! You have to ask her now! We don’t have time to waste!”

“I can’t!”

“Why not??”

“Because I’m not ready!”

“What do you need to be ready for?” Hange asked, and when Levi wasn’t moving they grabbed his hand and began dragging him out of the library. “Come on. All you’ve gotta do is ask. On Wednesdays she always hangs out in the courtyard.”

“No she doesn’t. She has theater practice on Wednesdays. She spends her Tuesdays and Thursdays in the courtyard.”

Hange shot a knowing smile over their shoulder at Levi. “Oh really? Thanks, now I know where to drag you.”

Shit.

“Also, it’s kind of creepy that you know where she hangs out every day after class.”

Double shit.

“That just means you really like her, huh?”

Triple shit.

They were getting closer to the Arts and Humanities building. Oh God, Levi couldn’t do this. Michaela was going to be in there practicing in front of people and Hange just expected him to walk up to her and ask her to go to the dance with him like he’d done this before?? Because he _hadn’t_ done this before, and while he wanted her to say yes, he knew there was a huge possibility that she’d say no. Michaela knew he existed, and they’d exchanged a few words from time to time, but if she hadn’t expressed interest in him yet didn’t that mean that she didn’t want him??

Now, Levi didn’t think there was anything wrong with himself personally. He was good looking, intelligent, and if given the chance, could show someone a good time. The only problem was getting _other_ people to give him a chance. If there was one thing he struggled with it was reading other people and understanding what they were thinking. True, he probably didn’t have as much empathy as others, which made things even harder for him, but dammit, he wanted this!

And why shouldn’t he have it?!

“We’re here,” Hange announced, attempting to push a stiff Levi through the double doors. “Go on in.”

Levi’s heart clenched when he saw her sitting on the stage, innocently reading over a script and mouthing some of the lines quietly to herself. “I’ve changed my mind.”

“What?”

“I can’t.”

“Yes, you can!”

“No,” Levi said seriously. “I actually can’t.”

“Levi . . .” Hange sighed. “You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Don’t you understand? And look, I can’t guarantee she’ll say yes, alright? I don’t know her that well and I don’t know her type, but please just try. You said yourself that this isn’t that serious – it’s not a date, you’re just asking her to go to the dance with you Friday night. Okay?”

Levi also sighed and eventually convinced himself to go through with it. He was right – this wasn’t a date. If anything, it was just a friendly outing. There was no need to even contemplate romance, because if she showed any interest in him at all, Levi wouldn’t _dare_ rush anything. If he got her, he absolutely wouldn’t lose her, and he could only pray repeatedly that she’d say yes as he walked up to her. He attempted to be nonchalant about it too, though the eyes belonging to his fellow peers looked upon him with nothing but suspicion. He definitely looked like a serial killer as he approached her even though he held no malice in his heart towards her at all.

He was just nervous.

Really.

Fucking.

Nervous.

“Michaela . . .” Levi mumbled, feeling his heart skip multiple beats at just uttering her name. She immediately looked up at him and smiled, the mere act enough to make Levi pass out.

“Yes?”

“Um . . .”

“Oh wait! You’re Levi, right?? You’re in my personal finance class!”

Levi felt his throat go dry. She knew him . . . ?

“Uh yeah.”

Psh, of _course_ she knew him. How could she miss his magnificence?

“Oh my gosh, I’m so glad you approached me!” Michaela said, sounding utterly relieved. “I’ve wanted to talk to you for the past month . . . about the dance.”

Levi couldn’t believe it. Michaela wanted to go with him. The girl of his dreams wanted to go to the dance with him!!!! Levi took a deep breath.

“Me too. I –

“You’re friends with Erwin, right? I wanted to get into his section of personal finance this year but the nine AM class filled up before I had a chance to get in, so I had to sign up for the one we’re in. If it’s not too much trouble, do you know if he’s going to the dance with anyone?? I know it’s really late to ask and I’m sorry to burden you with this, but I always get so nervous around him and whenever I had the chance to bring it up, I couldn’t!” she babbled quickly. “S-so, is he single? If he is, do you think I could get his number from you?”

 _FUCKING BITCH!!!!! SKANK! SLUT! WHORE!!!!_ Levi screamed to himself, staring into Michaela’s hopeful face without batting an eye.

“Erwin would _love_ to go with you.”

“Really??”

“If I can remember correctly, he actually has a crush on you.”

“WHAT?!”

“He talks about you all the time. He’s in love with you.”

Michaela blushed, pacing her hand over her heart in shock. “L-Levi . . . I-I can’t believe it . . .”

“I’ll tell him you want to go with him. He’ll be really excited. You should be too. You both are a match made in heaven. I’m so happy for him.”

“Wow . . .”

“Allow me to coordinate it all for you.”

Michaela’s mouth dropped open in shock. “Seriously?? Okay! If I give you my number can you have him call me??”

“Yes.”

“Thank you so much, Levi! You’re seriously the best! I should have talked to you sooner!” she squealed, scribbling her number down on a piece of paper and thrusting it into Levi’s hands. “Wow, _Erwin!_ I can’t believe it! I’m going to the dance with the man of my dreams . . .”

**Present day . . .**

“And then – wait, Eren! Are you crying?!”

Eren sniffled, wiping both eyes with the palms of his hands so that Hanji was no longer a giant blur behind his tears. “It’s just so sad . . . She’s so cruel. I mean, she obviously didn’t know Levi liked her, but thinking about how he must have felt makes me feel so bad for him. And he still offered to set everything up between her and Erwin! He’s so sweet . . . I wish he were here so that I could hug him.”

“Eren, if he were here he wouldn’t have let me tell you this story,” Hange said. “And you don’t have to feel bad for him. There’s a good ending to this!”

“How can there be a good ending?” Eren asked somberly.

“Just wait . . .”

**18 years ago; the night of the dance . . .**

“Ew, Erwin! You’re going with _her?!”_

“Yeah, why not?” Erwin asked casually, his back to Hange as he straightened out his tie in the mirror. “She’s alright-looking and if she likes me that much then I don’t mind taking her.”

“Seriously?!”

“What??”

“You’re a piece of shit, Erwin! You _know_ Levi is in love with her and you’ve got the balls to –

“Whoa Hange!” Erwin said, quickly whipping around to make sure he heard them right. “What do you mean? Levi is in love with her?”

“Yes!!!” Hange stressed. _“YES!”_

“No way. I thought he liked a girl named Michelle?”

“No, her name is Michaela and it’s the same Michaela you’re taking to the dance!”

“But . . . that doesn’t even make sense,” Erwin said slowly. “Levi came up to me the other day, gave me her number, said that she really wanted to go with me, and suggested that I take her. He told me that she was really sweet and kind and that I should call her and tell her how excited I was to go with her.”

“What?? Are you serious?? Did you?”

“Well, yeah. He asked me to.”

“Ugh, Erwin,” Hange sighed. “I wish I would have known. I don’t know what game Levi is trying to play here, but he’s had a crush on her from the moment he laid eyes on her the first day of school.”

“Seriously . . .?”

“Yeah. I was with him when he asked her to go. He came back to me with her number and when I congratulated him he told me that he couldn’t go with her because she had a prior commitment, but that it was okay because at least he’d gotten her number . . .”

“That’s odd . . . do you think I should cancel on her?”

Hange shrugged. “I don’t know. Levi is so complicated. And it doesn’t help that we’ve only known him for a year . . .”

“Well _you_ picked him.”

“He was all alone at orientation, Erwin! He’s new to the area and doesn’t have any family around here. What was I supposed to do?”

Erwin shrugged. “Good point. If he hadn’t set me up with her I was going to ask you guys if you wanted to spend the weekend at my grandfather’s villa.”

“You weren’t planning on going to the dance? Being the social butterfly you are, I thought dancing would have been right up your alley.”

“Maybe you weren’t the only one who felt bad for Levi.”

Hange smiled. “He would kill us if he knew we were treating him like some charity case.”

Erwin shared a handsome smiled back. “Good thing he’ll never know.”

As Erwin put the finishing touches on his outfit his phone rang, and he curiously looked at the caller ID before answering it. Since Hange was right next to him he immediately informed them of who it was. “It’s Michaela.”

“Really? Answer it,” Hange urged. “But put it on speaker phone! I need to hear what she's going to say because I’m still confused about this whole situation.”

Erwin quickly answered it before it went to voicemail. “Hello?”

“Erwin!!?”

“Michaela??” Erwin asked, sharing a worried glance with Hange at the distressed sounding voice on the other end. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“Erwin, I don’t think I can make it to the dance!!!”

“Huh? How come?”

“Well, I decided to drive home to get one of my best dresses and get ready, but while I was inside someone slashed my tires, poured sugar in my gas tank, and spray painted the word ‘WHORE’ on the hood of my car!!!! I can’t stop crying and shaking! I called the police and they’re on their way right now!” she sobbed and both Hange and Erwin shared the same shocked, wide eyed and open-mouthed expression. “Oh Erwin! I wanted to go to the dance with you so badly! W-who would do such a horrible thing to me . . . ? I feel like I’m going to throw up . . .”

“Michaela . . .” Erwin said gently. “I –

“Do you think they’ll come back??”

“Uh . . . no, I don’t think they will.”

She sighed shakily. “O-okay . . . I think the police are outside now. I have to go. Can I still see you some other time?”

“Sure . . .”

“Alright. Bye Erwin. Again, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine. Bye Michaela.”

After watching Erwin hang up, Hange closed their mouth before spit started dripping out of it and onto Erwin’s bed. Neither of them said anything for the next few minutes, simply staring at each other and communicating through their eyes and body language. In fact, neither of them needed to say anything because they both were _very_ aware of what the other was thinking . . .

**Present day . . .**

“And to this day Eren, Levi has never admitted to it,” Hange said, after concluding their story. They laughed at Eren’s expression, thinking it very similar to the one Erwin expressed so many years ago on that fateful night. “But after knowing him for eighteen years, and knowing what kind of person he is, I can say with confidence that he did it.”

Eren didn’t know whether to continue to be shocked or laugh, albeit awkwardly. “Did you ask him if he did it?”

“I didn’t work up the confidence to ask him until our junior year, but since he’s such a smooth operator he was able to convince me that he had no idea what I was talking about, so I believed he was innocent.”

“Smooth operator?” Eren snorted. “You should have seen him getting into a fight with the Keurig this morning. He’ll be picking coffee grounds out from between the cracks of his precious floor for months.”

“He’s only like that around you,” Hange giggled. “Years ago I would have said that he treats life like a chess board – everyone else is his pawn and he’s the king. But I believe he’s changed.”

“Yup. Because now he has a queen!”

“Very wise, Eren.”

“And,” Eren added, smiling in a powerful way as he crossed his arms. “The queen is the most powerful piece on the board.”

Hange laughed. “I don’t doubt Levi is fully at your mercy.”

“Hey Hanji? When you move in to the apartment next to us, will you tell me more stories?”

“Of _course_ I will my adorable, lovable child.”

Eren smiled happily. “I can’t wait! And before we start packing again I have to know: did Erwin end up dating Michaela?”

“He did actually,” Hange said and then shook their head at the memories. “Not for long though. I think they dated for about three months. He broke up with her because she was too clingy and she wasn’t really his type in terms of looks anyways. Levi acted so casual when Erwin told us, but in reality, he probably wanted to slit his neck open. After that night, Levi never spoke about or spoke to Michaela ever again . . . his heart was broken . . .”

Eren’s bottom lip quivered. “Aww, Hanji can I go home really quick?!”

“No sex breaks! The sooner you help me pack up everything, the quicker I can get moved out!”

“You shouldn’t have told me such a sad story . . .” Eren murmured, but obediently began to pack up things again.

Hange hummed thoughtfully. “Maybe if you do a good job getting everything all packed up nice and neatly, I’ll tell you about the time Levi and Erwin got drunk and made out.”

“You always know how to motivate me, Hanji!”


	27. Extra 1: Taking a Break

Levi was home from work early today, because for once in his life he’d run out of things to occupy himself with. Erwin urged him to leave and Hange told him he deserved a break, which wasn’t untrue, but Levi simply didn’t take breaks: until now.

However, sitting on the couch alone only satisfied him for about two seconds. With renewed energy he pulled out his laptop in a quest to find something to work on. It was only one o’clock which meant Eren wouldn’t be back for a few more hours, and it didn’t sit right with him to know Eren was at school working while he was sitting on his ass doing nothing. If his younger-by-fifteen-years lover was busy, then he was busy too – no exceptions.

The first thing he did was open up a tab on Google to check his email and after noticing Eren was logged in instead of himself, he scoffed lightly before logging out. That brat had a $3,000 laptop of his own and _still_ insisted on using his from time to time. It didn’t bother Levi to have Eren using his laptop to check his email, but knowing Eren probably only used it because it happened to be closer to him than _his_ laptop showed just how spoiled he was. Still, Levi was unbothered. In fact, he’d been tempted to buy Eren another laptop so that he’d have one to use in the living room and another one to use in the bedroom, just so that Eren wouldn’t have to strain himself to carry it around the house. On no planet was that a good reason to buy a second laptop, so Levi wouldn’t unless Eren specifically asked him to . . . but surprising Eren was always so much fun. Decisions, decisions.

With that aside, Levi answered a few emails before absentmindedly opening up another tab to search something, however he was met with a strange question that popped up in his history. Actually, it was _more_ than strange . . .

It was: _How do I tell my partner that I want to take a break without upsetting them?_

Of course, Levi immediately clicked on the question and ended up on a weird website he’d never heard of. It obviously catered to couples having relationship problems, and the very same question was posted at the top of the page, the poster going by the name of ‘Eren’.

 _Extremely_ offended, Levi read on, eyes scanning over the passage Eren took the time to type out (instead of coming to _him)_ in order to get help from strangers.

_Eren:_

_Hey everyone! I normally wouldn’t post questions on random websites asking for relationship advice, but I feel like I’ve run out of options. I can’t really bring this topic up to my friends or family because my relationship with this person wasn’t initially received very well. Of course, we’ve been accepted now, but I’d rather receive help from outsiders in order to avoid feeling like I’m being judged._

_Here’s my dilemma. My partner and I have been together for a while now and I’ve reached a point of where I kind of want to take a break from them. Not a long break, but maybe a couple of weeks. I’m really hesitant to bring my request up to them though. First of all, taking a break would require me to move back in with my parents, and I fought them tooth and nail to get them to accept me living with my partner in the first place. If I move back home, my parents might get this idea that they’ve ‘won’ and I don’t want that at all. Secondly, I don’t know how to bring this up to my partner without upsetting them. I’m really scared it’s going to make them mad and they probably won’t understand, which sucks because I feel like MOST partners would be understanding. It’s fine to ask questions, but I KNOW they're going to give me the third degree and I can’t deal with that right now. I’m already stressed over having to do this because I love them and don’t want to be apart from them, but at the same time I know what has to be done and I don’t feel like fighting about it. Please help!!_

If Levi hadn’t been offended before, now he was _really_ offended. Instead of sitting there and contemplating his feelings though, he pressed on, eager to see how people responded to Eren’s little request for ‘help’.

_DestinyB_19:_

_Hi Eren. It's a little concerning that you fear your partner enough to contemplate asking for something as reasonable as a break. There is NOTHING to think about. While it’s fine to consider their feelings, you should consider yours first. I recommend asking for the break as you intend to do, but may I suggest you do it in a well-lit area where you can ensure that people are nearby? I’d hate for anyone to end up physically hurt. Good luck!_

“What?” Levi asked himself, looking away from the screen and then looking back to make sure he’d read that right. What did this bitch mean by 'make sure you do it in a well-lit area where you can ensure that people are nearby’?!

This was why Eren should have just come to him first! Now he had people on this stupid-ass site believing he was some monster!

_Charlesmoore:_

_Hmm, sounds like you’re in quite the dilemma, Eren. Personally, I think that if you’re questioning taking a break from your partner, you really don’t need to take one at all! It sounds like you may have had a small argument with them and now you’re taking to the internet in a rage to seek validation for your thoughts. Look: couples argue all the time. Also, couples wanting to take breaks from each other is normal. However, I think you should dig deep within yourself to find out if you REALLY want this. To me, it sounds like you don’t._

Well, at least _someone_ understands!

_Cerealgrapist69:_

_Eren, I’ve been in this situation before and have learned that breaking the news to a partner that’s likely to react in hysterics is easier said than done. Maybe you can break the news to them over a nice dinner? Sure, it may ruin the atmosphere a little, but you probably want to make sure your partner is in the best mood they can be in before telling them something like this. I believe in you, Eren!_

Finally, when Levi reached the end of the page and found a response from Eren thanking everyone for their ‘kind words and wisdom,’ he had half a mind to make an account just so that he could reply . . .

And he did.

Cleverly giving himself the name ‘KARMA,’ Levi quickly got to work crafting out a reply, eyes glancing at the clock and realizing that Eren would be home any minute now. He had to hurry.

_KARMA:_

_Eren, didn’t anybody ever teach you that honesty is the best policy? How is your partner supposed to know how you feel if you don’t talk to them about it? People can’t read minds, you know. Quit acting scared of your significant other. Either you’re extremely sensitive or you’re in an abusive relationship – which one do YOU think it is?_

_By the way, have you ever thought that maybe your partner is trying? Think about it: how many times does your partner apologize first when you get into an argument with them? How many times does your partner tell you that they love you? How many dates does your partner take you out on? How many gifts does your partner buy you? Are you blind to your partner’s efforts or do you just refuse to acknowledge them?? And you have the NERVE to want to take a break from them!? What have they done to deserve this? If you don’t have an answer to this question, it probably means you’re just a brat who’s letting their imagination run wild! Don’t allow the tiny arguments you may have with them here and there to influence you. Your partner loves you and wants to do everything in their power to make sure that you’re always happy being by their side, but if you don’t say anything, they’ll never know what the problem is._

_One last thing: if you want my best piece of advice, try not to ever let your partner know that you’re afraid to speak your mind around them unless you TRULY are. Something like that could really hurt their feelings. And who knows? Maybe your partner grew up around REAL abuse and would feel like utter shit if they knew they were making you feel the same way._

After Levi posted his comment he instantly regretted it. Instead of feeling all high and mighty about it like he was during the actual composing part, he was now feeling like he just gave himself away. Eren wasn’t stupid. That last paragraph was _totally_ indicative of who made that post and it was completely unnecessary. Yes, it did make Levi feel like shit to know that Eren felt like he couldn’t talk to him, but that was something he should have kept to himself!

That aside, the rest of his masterpiece was just that: a _masterpiece._ Eren needed someone to be honest with him and that’s what he did. Levi was perfectly fine with Eren telling him that he wanted to take a break. Would he like it? Not in a million years, however he would rather have Eren drop a bombshell as painful as that than walk on eggshells around him, wishing that he could talk to him, but holding back in fear of making him mad.

That part of Eren’s initial post actually really confused Levi. He could admit that in the beginning of their relationship he acted like a jackass, but now they were months-in and he hadn’t raised his voice at Eren in weeks. Levi never would have thought Eren the type to cower from something like this either, so what was Eren so afraid of? It was entirely possible that Eren was afraid of hurting his feelings, and if that was the case, Levi supposed he didn’t have a right to be so upset . . .

But he was.

If Eren was holding back just because he was afraid of hurting him, that _had_ to qualify as some form of abuse. And Levi _never_ wanted Eren to feel like he was gaslighting him: he’d been in situations like that and it made him feel crazy. Sure, he liked to control things around him, but Eren wasn’t one of those things. He wasn’t a _thing_ at all. He was his own person and if he felt like he was being manipulated, then Levi wanted him to grow some balls and tell him! That wasn’t too much to ask for, was it?? They’d _just_ watched a _Dr. Phil_ episode together about the importance of communication and Eren was all smiley and nodding along like he agreed, but here he was keeping all of his thoughts to himself!!!

“Levi!”

Levi scrambled to close out that tab on his laptop so fast it would have been completely reasonable for Eren to assume he was watching porn.

“You’re already home?” Eren asked, setting his stuff down messily in the kitchen before hopping over to Levi’s side.

“Yeah. Got off work early.”

“You should have told me! I could have ditched school early.”

“To come back here?”

“Of _course_ to come back here. I live here, don’t I?”

Levi shrugged and looked away, trying not to incriminate himself further. “Yeah . . .”

Eren smiled cheekily. “What? Don’t want me here or something?”

“No, I _do_ want you here. I _always_ want you here. I don’t ever want to come home and experience you _not_ being here.”

“. . . Oh . . .”

“. . .”

“. . .”

“. . .”

“What do you want for dinner?” Eren asked, getting up and heading into the kitchen. “Actually, there’s some chicken in the fridge that I need to cook because it’ll go bad in a few days if I don’t.”

In order to keep the impulse-monster at bay, Levi simply agreed and hurriedly left the room, locking himself in the bedroom instead. For now, he was going to wait for Eren to respond online because it was clear that Eren still had no intentions of talking about wanting to take a break from him . . . tch, only a brat would bite the hand that feeds them. He literally worshiped the ground Eren walked on and Eren wanted to ‘take a break’ and move back home for two weeks.

Maybe he was suffocating him? Ah . . . that could have been a possibility. Eren _had_ made it clear during the cake incident that he didn’t appreciate overbearing displays of physical affection. It would be hard, but Levi could back off if that’s what Eren truly wanted. It definitely wasn’t what _he_ wanted, but if Eren was going to threaten to leave him, then he literally didn’t have a choice . . .

* * *

The next day, Levi _dared_ to spend his precious work time logging on to the website to see if Eren had responded. Actually, he was using his lunch break to do it, and while he normally spent that time eating food Eren cooked for him, he was still feeling betrayed. As a result, Levi wasn’t in the mood to eat Eren’s home-cooking. It didn’t feel genuine – if Eren wanted to take a fucking break from him _so badly,_ then Levi wasn’t going to inconvenience him. In fact, he didn’t even say anything to him this morning, leaving before Eren had woken up. What else was he going to do? He was in too bad of a mood to hold a normal morning conversation with anyone, and of course, Levi didn’t want to **bother** Eren with any **unnecessary affection.**

Rolling his eyes in irritation, he scrolled down to his last post, surprised, yet not at all shocked by the fact that Eren had responded to him.

_Eren:_

_Hi KARMA. After reading your post I initially wanted to argue with you, but I’ve realized that you’re absolutely right. Hurting my partner’s feelings is the LAST thing I want to do, and you may have a point about me being sensitive. We definitely don’t fight all the time and I’m sorry if I implied that in my original post, but I still stand by the fact that I want to take a break. Not just for me, but for my partner too. I truly think we BOTH need a break – I should have been more clear about this as well._

_Also, my partner DOES make an effort to make me happy and I promise that I acknowledge this. I know they love me, and I love them too!_

_Anyways, I get that my partner will never know how I feel unless I say something. Still, I’m struggling with knowing that I’ll hurt their feelings. I know you think that if I ever let them know I’m afraid to speak my mind around them that this will make them feel worse, however as far as I know, they have no idea I feel this way. And rest assured, I’m NOT afraid to speak my mind around them. They’re just such a good partner and I’m desperate for them to be on the same page as I am . . . does this make sense? Ugh, I wish they wanted to take a break from me too. This would be so much easier . . ._

Levi sighed, automatically beginning to type out a response. Admittedly, he wasn’t sure how he expected Eren to respond, but he certainly hadn’t expected _this._ Not only was it cryptic (or maybe he just wasn’t in tune with how young people expressed themselves) but they weren’t any closer to a resolution. Eren was still struggling with his irrational fear of hurting him, and while Levi appreciated the concern, it wasn’t needed. He was thirty-five years old and had been told worse.

_KARMA:_

_Eren, you need to get over your irrational fear of hurting your partner’s feelings. I’m sure that they just want you to be honest with them. Sometimes you won’t agree on where you should go next in your relationship, but the only way to resolve this is to talk about it. Don’t wait around for your partner to initiate contact – they probably don’t want to admit it, but they may struggle with expressing themselves with words, so you’ll have to start first. It may be selfish of them, but I’m sure you know what you signed up for._

Well, he’d done all he could do. At this point, Levi would just have to wait for Eren to come to him. It’d really pained him to admit that he wasn’t good with words just then, but unfortunately it was true. Talking about anything other than himself exhausted him, and Levi just _knew_ he was going to have trouble allowing Eren to convince him to take a break. He was still pissed at Eren for even entertaining the idea, but at the same time he was hurt and confused.

Why? Why did they need to take a break? Didn’t breaks lead to break-ups?

Because that was _never_ going to happen.

He’d worked too fucking hard for this relationship and Eren wasn’t going anywhere!

They’d been through this before: if he couldn’t have Eren, **no one could**.

He decided that he needed to get back to work before he sat around thinking about this all day, but he happened to notice a little red envelope on the corner of his screen glowing, and upon clicking on it, he was given a preview of a comment Eren had just left! Clicking on the comment in curiosity, Levi figured that he shouldn’t get back to work _just_ yet. This was probably worth his time.

No, this was _definitely_ worth his time.

_Eren:_

_KARMA, you remind me a lot of my partner. Literally, you’ve nailed their personality. It’s almost as if you’re inside their head. I wish you were there counseling us through this with your wisdom, but they’d probably throw a fit and refuse to take the help like the stubborn mule they are._

“Stubborn mule???” Levi hissed, squinting his eyes to make sure he read that right.

_KARMA:_

_Y_ _ou’re not giving your partner enough credit. Maybe they aren’t as stubborn as you think. Maybe they’re very in love with you and it frustrates them to think that they aren’t making you as happy as you deserve to be._

_Eren:_

_I can understand being frustrated, but when your frustration keeps you from having a genuine, focused conversation, communication becomes difficult. It becomes a chore. I love talking to my partner, but talking about serious stuff like this always seems to end up in an argument._

_KARMA:_

_HE’S NOT ARGUING WITH YOU! HE’S NOT BEING STUBBORN EITHER! HE JUST LOVES YOU, BRAT! DON’T YOU GET IT?!_

_Eren: OH MY GOD! LEVI, IS THIS YOU?! YOU SICK ASSHOLE!!! HOW DARE YOU!! I WAS JUST TRYING TO GET HELP AND YOU INFILTRATED MY SAFE SPACE! THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MY AREA THAT I COULD KEEP PRIVATE FROM YOU AND YOU VIOLATED IT!_

_KARMA:_

_Y_ _OU DON’T GET ANYMORE PRIVACY DATING ME BECAUSE WHEN I GIVE YOU PRIVACY YOU GO AND PULL SOME STUPID SHIT LIKE THIS! AND DON’T EVEN TRY TO ACT LIKE YOU WEREN’T FLIRTING WITH KARMA WITH THAT ‘I WISH YOU COULD COUNSEL US WITH YOUR WISDOM’ SHIT. YOU WANT KARMA SO BAD? YOU’VE GOT IT NOW._

_Moderator:_

_Hi Eren and KARMA! Mod here. I just wanted to inform you of the forum rules really quickly in case you didn’t read them before signing up. We’re an inclusive community and we want everyone, no matter their age, to feel encouraged to post here. Because of this, profane language is one of the many things we prohibit. I’m afraid I’ll have to delete your posts with profanity, so please try to refrain from speaking this way to each other again._

_Eren:_

_I HATE YOU, LEVI. I. HATE. YOU. YOU’RE A CREEP._

_KARMA:_

_I_ _’m a creep, huh? Well, if I’m so creepy don’t bother coming home. You can go ahead and take that break you wanted. It won’t hurt my feelings a bit, so you don’t have to worry about it._

Levi logged off after that, now wishing there were a way to report the entire website so that there was no evidence left of what had just transpired. He felt sick, not necessarily because Eren called him a creep (he probably _was_ a little creepy) but because Eren accused him of ‘violating his safe place’ or whatever the hell it was he said. Honestly, this would have _never_ happened had Eren made his initial post on his _own_ damn laptop. Maybe Eren trusted him not to look, or maybe he thought he was so technologically impaired that he wouldn’t be smart enough to put two and two together. Whatever the case may be, this wasn’t his fault. Levi didn’t feel guilty at all for infiltrating Eren’s little private area. Eren didn’t deserve any privacy if he was going to use it to go behind his back and talk to strangers online! And then Eren had the nerve to flirt with a stranger! Was he serious?! Who even tries to flirt with someone named Karma!? He should have known better!

This whole situation was just fucked up anyways!

They were fine!!

NO ONE WAS TAKING A BREAK!

In fact, even though he told Eren not to bother coming home, if he didn’t open that door and find Eren’s ass planted firmly on the couch where it belonged, then he was seriously going to lose it.

Now he’d _really_ screwed up. His arguing about an imaginary issue with Eren had poured over into his work time, subsequently ruining the rest of his day. The punishment for such a blunder was overtime, which Levi was actually grateful for. He needed something to take his mind off of this . . .

* * *

To say Eren was pissed was an understatement.

Seven o’clock.

It was _seven o’clock_ and Levi _still_ wasn’t home.

He had half a mind to storm over to Hanji’s house and bang on their door, demanding to know where Levi was, because he was was being  _extremely_  immature by ignoring his texts! Eren wasn’t in the wrong for this at all and he could explain why for hours!

For starters, he’d been wanting to take a break from Levi for a while now, not because he hated him or anything, but because he was tired of their current dynamic. This sort of thing happened to all couples, however Eren believed himself more susceptible to wanting to get away from Levi due to being young. No, he didn’t want to go out and party and meet other guys: he wanted to experience being in his own space for a couple of weeks to just unwind and reset himself. Although it made perfect sense to him, no one else would probably understand. _Although,_ the saying goes that someone doesn’t realize what they have until they’ve lost it. Maybe this was just an excuse on his part, but Eren wanted some time away from Levi so that he could miss him properly. He wanted to give Levi the same opportunity as well.

Plus, they’d been dating so long and had spent so much time together that they never had anything to talk about it. It wasn’t as if they barely spoke to one another, but Eren found himself utterly annoyed with the fact that Levi didn’t seem the slightest bit interested in talking to him about his day when he came home from work. Yes, Eren understood that it was mundane because he did the same thing every day, but he would prefer to hear about it instead of Levi just shrugging it off and locking himself in his office to do more work. It was annoying, and Eren always felt like he was bothering him when he wanted to spend time doing something together even though Levi always did what he asked without confrontation.

That was the most irritating part about it all: he shouldn’t _have_ to ask! Why couldn’t Levi ask every once in a while?! Why couldn’t Levi come home and _offer_ to do something with him instead of waiting around for him to ask?! This was why Eren had growing suspicions after KARMA’S post about how his partner may ‘struggle with expressing themselves with words’. Eren empathized with Levi of course, but at the same time they’d been dating for months. There was no excuse for why Levi couldn’t act more interested in him using his words. At this point Eren was feeling like the only thing Levi was truly interested in was his body. He was _always_ eager for sex, but when it came to communication Levi always had something better to do, whether it be work, reading a book, working out, or taking a nap. Just to test his theory, Eren had waited until Levi claimed to have to attend an ‘important business meeting,’ which he informed him of via text, by the way. Eren texted back that it was ‘unfortunate because he was really horny and lonely’. Levi was able to reschedule the _important_ business meeting for another day.

The point was that it was clear they both needed a break from each other. Eren needed a chance to recuperate on his own before Levi _actually_ pissed him off to the point of no return, and Levi needed a chance to miss him so much that he was deprived of not only his body, but also of information about his life. Until then, Eren wasn’t interested in spending anymore time with Levi. He understood that Levi loved him, and he didn’t expect Levi to tell him in words all the time, but Eren was sexually drained. To think that a thirty-five-year-old man could outdo him in the realm of sex was absolutely ridiculous too. Unfortunately, Eren’s ass and back were proof that it could be done.

Of course, after informing Mikasa about his plans along with the fact that he was hesitant to even say anything to Levi about it, she was more than ready to have a discussion with Levi on his behalf. Eren wanted to be the one to tell Levi that he wanted a break though, even _if_ made him feel sick to do it. It hurt so badly because he knew Levi wouldn’t understand. Not only was Levi stubborn, but he lacked foresight about how his actions would affect others. Levi probably thought himself to be totally in the right, probably thought he wasn’t doing anything wrong, and probably thought that his younger lover was just being a brat as per usual and wanted to get away from him for no other reason than to just be annoying.

But Eren wasn’t trying to be annoying! If anything, he was doing their entire relationship a favor, because if he didn’t slip away now and allow both of them time to be on their own for a while, he was going to snap and end it with Levi. Seriously. Eren was _that_ upset. And he didn’t _want_ to end it, which was why he wanted to just secretly go on this break and hope that Levi would end up changing on his own subconscious level. He didn’t want to tell Levi straight up ‘you only want to have sex and you never want to talk and I feel unappreciated. Thus, we need to go on a break so that you can miss me properly and realize what you have,’ because Levi was sure to deny both points. However, Eren had _also_ agreed (with KARMA) that he needed to just suck it up and tell Levi how he was feeling! He _had_ to do it, yet even though he understood that it would hurt Levi’s feelings if he kept everything to himself and stayed miserable, Eren was more than positive that telling Levi the truth would hurt him worse.

Basically, not telling Levi would hurt him and make him sad, but telling Levi would hurt him and make him angry. Eren wasn’t sure which one was the lesser of two evils, so by default, he remained silent. Keeping his mouth shut was just easier no matter what they were going through . . .

Also, it was nearing eight o’clock and Levi still wasn’t home, leading Eren to assume the worst. How upset about this could Levi be if he was so easily able to ignore him and stay out all night? Plus, Eren was pretty sure he knew what Levi was up to if he could choose to ignore all of his texts and calls . . . He really didn’t think Levi was the type to do something like this either, especially after Hanji convinced him that he was the ‘only one’ for Levi.

Yeah right.

Eren wouldn’t even say anything when Levi eventually came home either. He was going to wait for the explanation he deserved.

Oh, but Levi wasn’t too good with his words, so he’d probably end up not saying anything, right? Maybe he should just go ahead and initiate the break without saying something first to give Levi a taste of his own medicine . . . because he was too nice he’d probably eventually give in and attempt to explain it all to Levi, but still, Levi deserved to suffer just a little.

His suffering would start by feeding himself tonight – Eren wasn’t cooking shit if Levi couldn’t even respond to a single text from him. As for him, he’d be fine. He didn’t have much of an appetite. Given the fact that he was mentally drained, all Eren could think about was going to sleep. Homework definitely wasn’t getting done tonight, and instead of even attempting it, Eren shoved everything back into his backpack and stormed into the bedroom. Without showering or getting undressed, he fell onto the bed (knowing Levi had major problems with getting into bed without having showered). Normally he happily obeyed all of Levi’s weird house rules, but tonight was different. This was Eren’s night. And if wanted to go to bed fully clothed, then he’d go to be fully clothed!

He’d _almost_ fallen asleep too when he heard the sound of the front door opening and all of a sudden he was wide awake again. Sitting up straight and trying to purposefully look like he was waiting (because he technically was) Eren sucked in a battle-breath when Levi casually sauntered into the room as if he hadn’t been ignoring him for the past three hours.

“Why are you on the bed fully clothed?” Levi hissed, loosening his tie as he walked over to the closet, eyes burning holes through Eren.

“Why did you ignore all of my texts?” Eren shot back, tone equally venomous.

“I didn’t ignore you, brat. I got into a car accident and couldn’t be bothered with responding to your long ass paragraphs.”

“Um, where?” Eren asked with accusatory, narrowed eyes. “Where Levi? I see no bruises?”

“That’s because I’m not an idiot and I was wearing a seatbelt.”

“A likely story.”

“Whatever. Where’s my dinner?”

“HA! _Dinner?!_ What dinner?! Why aren’t we discussing what’s happened the past two days?? Actually, why don’t we discuss what’s been happening the past two _weeks?!”_

Levi rolled his eyes. “There’s nothing to discuss. I’m going to take a shower.”

“Fine. I’m done being nice!” Eren announced, coming to a stand. “We’re going on a break, Levi. Two weeks. I’ll see you later.”

“No.”

“Yeah.”

“NO, EREN!”

Knowing he’d triggered the beast, Eren sat back and calmly waited for Levi to give him a good reason as to why this wasn’t a good idea.

“We’re not going on a break! If you have a problem with me, tell me! That’s all I’m asking!”

“No, we _are_ going on a break,” Eren insisted. “We’re going on a break because I feel unappreciated. I’ve been thinking about this for awhile now, but you need some time to properly miss me and I some ‘me-time’ to recharge. I know you’re not going to understand, but –

“Tch, no. I get it,” Levi sighed. “I’m suffocating you.”

“Well . . . that’s part of it. You’re suffocating me with your body but you’re not suffocating me with your words.”

 _“What?!”_ Levi practically screamed. “Are you _trying_ to confuse me!? What am I supposed to make of that? I’m not suffocating you with my words? That doesn’t make any sense! And I already know what you’re up to, so stop!”

“Excuse me?? What exactly am I up to?!”

“You’re trying to use cryptic language to confuse me so that you can go cry about how I don’t understand you! I’m not letting you use that excuse to get away from me, Eren! Nice try!”

“Ohhhh my God,” Eren groaned, reaching up to massage his temples. “You are crazy, Levi! That’s literally not it at all! What I meant to say is that I feel like our communication as of late sucks! We never talk about anything and it’s because we’re always together! Sorry, but I’m tired of just having sex all the time! I haven’t said anything about it because I know you don’t like to talk, but I’ve gotten to the point of where I can’t stand it anymore! That’s why I want to take a break! We both need time to work on ourselves independently!”

“Why didn’t you just say that?!”

“I don’t know! When you stand over me and yell in my face I get flustered and forget my words!”

“. . . Sorry,” Levi mumbled, backing off when he realized that he had advanced on Eren like a drill sergeant yelling at a private.

“And I didn’t want to hurt your feelings,” Eren continued sadly. “That’s why it took me so long to truly tell you.”

“You don’t have to be afraid to tell me how you feel,” Levi said. “Even if you’re refusing to tell me because you want to spare my feelings, it hurts me more to know that you’re keeping your thoughts to yourself. I’ll always be willing to listen to you, Eren. You could talk about the color purple for hours and I’d listen to you without complaining.”

“Then why don’t you talk to me more often?”

“I just don’t have anything to say.”

“For the one _hundredth_ time Levi: that’s why we need time apart.”

“No.”

“Why??”

“Because I won’t allow it, that's why! If I do, you’ll get used to it!”

“What’s wrong with that?!”

“Because _Eren,”_ Levi said through gritted teeth. “If you do, you’ll realize how much fun it is being single and you won’t want to settle down. I’m ready for a partner that’s fully committed to me. I don’t want to spend this entire relationship wondering when you’ll have had enough and want to take a break.”

“Well, _Levi,”_ Eren responded, also through his teeth. “Maybe if you spent more time using your mouth and less time using your dick, I wouldn’t want to take a break from you, now would I?”

“ . . .”

“Also, fuck you for saying I’m not committed to you,” Eren said. “I was the one sitting here waiting for a text from you like I had nothing better to do, thinking you were out cheating on me. And I _still_ waited here for you. Most people would just get up and leave, you know.”

“I wouldn’t cheat on you, idiot. I know what I have, and I don’t want to lose it. That’s why if you want something from me, just tell me and I’ll do it. I’m not good at things like this, so just be honest. Help me so that I can help you.”

Eren sighed, finally dropping his defensive posture and smiling. “Okay.”

Levi also relented, struggling to catch the brunette in time when Eren jumped on him, wrapping his arms around his neck and legs around his waist, kissing him as if he hadn’t seen him in a year.

“That was a short break,” Levi remarked, going in for another kiss after Eren pulled away slightly to breathe.

“Yeah it was. Did you miss me?”

“More than I’ve ever missed anything in my life.”

Eren smiled again and kissed Levi’s forehead, lightly scraping his nails across Levi’s undercut. “By the way, did you really get into a car accident or were you just ruminating in your office because you didn’t want to come home and confront me?”

“No, my Rolls Royce is totaled,” Levi said, chuckling when Eren’s face reflected pure shock. “I was in the middle of an eight-car pile-up. The front and back were crushed. I had to rent a car just to get home.”

“WHAT?! What are you going to do?!?!?”

“Well, there’s this thing called insurance –

“I know what insurance is!” Eren snapped. “Insurance won’t buy you a brand-new car!”

“Yes, it will,” Levi assured him. “Insurance on a Rolls Royce isn’t cheap, and I’ll be out some money, but it’s just a car. It can be replaced.”

“Oh . . . good. I’m glad you’re not hurt.”

“Me too.”

“Now I feel bad that I didn’t make you anything for dinner.”

Levi resisted the urge to make a comment about how he could have Eren for dinner instead and dropped him to his feet, eager to take a shower (a slightly cold one . . . okay, maybe a _very_ cold one) after such a long day.

“Just order pizza.”

“Really?!”

“Yeah. We can eat it and talk about . . . stuff,” Levi said awkwardly, although he really was trying his best.

“Okay,” Eren giggled. “But you have to talk back. Also, are you gonna use the shower? Because I kind of want to take a bath.”

More awkwardness. “Yeah . . . but wait until I’m done.”

“Why?” Eren asked innocently, stripping off his shirt as he headed into the bathroom. “We’re both boys. It shouldn’t matter.”

Levi frowned. “You can’t just get naked in the same room with me and expect me not to touch you.”

Eren shrugged. “This will be good for you. It will teach you restraint and patience.”

“I wait for nothing.”

“You’ll wait this time. If you don’t, do I permission to punch you?”

“Sure. I have a feeling you can’t punch that hard anyways.”

Eren scoffed and tried to look intimidating, but he actually _couldn’t_ punch that hard. In fact, he couldn’t punch anyone at all, especially Levi.

And he may or may not have regretted _not_ punching him during his bath . . . 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: I don't like angst.  
> Also me: *writes this* 
> 
> By the way, YES this will get a part 2! Maybe not directly after this one, but part 2 is coming for sure!


	28. Extra 2: Taking a Break Pt. 2

“So, let me get this straight,” Armin said, staring at Eren and waiting for him to correct what he’d just told him. When Eren said nothing, he was forced to continue. “You told Levi you wanted to take a break, then he _forced_ himself on you, which means he raped you, and now you want to camp out in my dorm room for two weeks because if you go home your parents will make you break up with your rapist. Right?”

Eren nodded. “Pretty much.”

“. . . Eren, if Levi raped you, you need to end it with him and go to the police.”

“Okay, it wasn’t really _rape_ ," Eren explained, beginning to fear Armin’s serious tone. “You know that psychological phenomenon when you’re having sex and you say _no_ in your mind, but your mouth says, ‘yes daddy, don’t stop, please fuck me harder?’ And then you cum like three times?? Has that ever happened to you?”

“EREN!”

“No? Okay, well it happened to me last night.”

“First of all, there’s no such thing. And second of all, you need to be honest! Did Levi force himself on you or not??”

“Define ‘force himself’ . . .”

“Get out and go home.”

“NO, Armin!” Eren yelled, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him. “I’m serious about this break! Come on, let me stay here for two weeks! I was planning on going home, but the more I thought about it, the more I’m scared to tell my parents that I want to take a break from Levi! They’ll probably tell me that if I want to take a break from him that I need to just go ahead and _break up_ with him and I don’t want to do that!”

Armin sighed. “Why do you need to take a break anyways?”

“Because I want me-time.”

“There is no me-time if you marry him, you know.”

“Well, I’m thinking that by the time we get married his libido will have calmed down enough to where I don’t feel like I need me-time.”

“Oh, I see,” Armin laughed. “You need to learn how to say no to sex.”

“I _did_ say no!”

“Did you really? Saying no in your head doesn’t count, Eren. He can’t read your mind, and if you’re actively telling him you want it, what’s he supposed to think?”

“He’s supposed to understand that my asshole is crying and that it can’t take this anymore!” Eren said before sighing. “Ugh, you know what?! Next time he wants sex I’m going to top! How about that?!”

Armin raised his eyebrows. “Now there’s a good idea.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, go for it. Sex is sex, isn’t it?”

“I _guess_ but . . . no, actually, you’re right!”

“Of course I am.”

“Uh chill, _you_ got broken up with, remember?”

“It was mutual!”

“Mmhmm.”

Armin rolled his eyes playfully. “It _was._ And if you keep bullying me I’m not going to let you stay here.”

“I don’t think I need to stay,” Eren said confidently. “If I can start topping, I won’t feel so sore _and_ Levi probably won’t want to have as much sex if I get to top half of the time. Everything works out perfectly.”

“I _hope_ it works out perfectly. You know, you should be flattered that he likes you so much when we all know how disgusting you are.”

 _“Excuse_ me?? How am I disgusting?!”

“I found a hardboiled egg, a cup of pee, milk stains, pubes, and half eaten cup of ramen under your bed!”

“What?! That’s not disgusting at all! The hardboiled egg is pretty weird, but the rest of that stuff is normal!”

“How is a cup of pee normal?!”

“I had to go one time and I didn’t want to get out of bed!!”

“Eren, that’s _soooooo_ gross! How could you not smell it?! I could throw up just thinking about it!”

“Oh whatever. At least I don’t leave empty cartons of milk in the fridge!”

Armin shook his head. “I’m not going to argue with you anymore. You’re nasty and you know it.”

Eren poked his bottom lip out. “Why are you trying to hurt me, Armin? I thought we were friends?”

“We are, I just don’t want you stay in my dorm for two weeks. The bathroom is in the hallway and I wouldn’t want you peeing in cups because you’re too lazy to get up and properly relieve yourself.”

“I wouldn’t drink any water the whole time I’m here if that would make you happy.”

“That wouldn’t make me happy at all because then you’d die.”

“You really can’t be pleased, huh?”

“Nope. Guess that’s why I’m single now.”

“I can help you guys get back together!”

“No,” Armin laughed. “Forget about it. He’s in a better place now.”

“In a better place? He didn’t die.”

“I know dude. It was just a figure of speech.”

“When someone says someone else is in a better place it means they died though.”

“No, it doesn’t! Don’t you have class??”

Eren looked at the time on his phone and nodded. “Yeah, but not for another hour. C’mon, talk to me!”

Armin sighed miserably. “Fine, but we’re not talking about relationships anymore. Let’s talk about the perfect score I got on my biochemistry midterm. I didn’t even study that hard! All I did was –

“Actually, I lied. My class starts in thirty seconds.”

“Wow! Traitor!”

“I love you, Armin!”

Eren could hear a pillow hit the door as soon as he shut it and he laughed before walking off to find something to occupy himself with until class started. He was actually in a pretty good mood now that he’d figured out what to do to solve their relationship problem. If anything, Levi should be _extremely_ satisfied with this solution since it didn’t involve them actually having to part for an extended amount of time. He knew the issues Levi had with them taking a break, and even though Eren didn’t agree with or understand those issues, he still respected Levi’s opinion. At the end of the day, Eren _did_ want to compromise with him, and if separating bothered Levi so bad, he was willing to try something else.

Which made what he had in mind the _perfect_ plan! His ass could take a break without _him_ having to take a break! Also, Levi would still get to have sex as often as he wanted it, so everyone was a winner! Eren couldn’t wait to see the lightbulb go off in Levi’s head when he mentioned this to him! Levi would probably say something like, “why didn’t _I_ think about that?!” to which Eren would say, “it doesn’t matter! Let’s have sex!” and then he would proceed to top!

It wasn’t as if he was overly excited about topping or anything, but he’d always been curious about it. He always felt amazing being the bottom during sex and he wanted to extend that same courtesy to Levi. And who knows? Maybe Levi never asked to switch because he didn’t know how to bring it up in conversation? What if Levi had wanted to switch this whole time but he was just too dumb to realize?!

Now he felt bad . . . had he been insensitive towards Levi’s needs and feelings? Had he been a bad boyfriend? Was he selfish!?

Suddenly growing worried, Eren struggled to resist the urge to text Levi knowing this conversation was better had face to face. Hopefully implementing this change into their relationship would not only fix things, but let Levi know that Eren was serious about understanding and catering to his needs.

* * *

“You know how to fix this?” Levi asked, watching Eren as he bounced up and down where he stood excitedly.

Levi wasn’t sure why or how, but Eren was looking _particularly_ cute today, and the excited bouncing was sending those cuteness waves towards him full throttle. His hair looked soft, his ass looked amazing in his jeans, his wrists looked dainty in the cream-colored sweater he was wearing – _fuck_ everything was perfect. Of course, Eren was always perfect, but every once in a while he picked out (of the seemingly endless piles of clothing he had) a particular clothing combination that made Levi swoon.

Today happened to be one of those days.

_He needed him._

_Bad._

Forget the dinner, forget the conversation, forget everything that didn’t involve Eren ass down face up for him, right. _Fucking. **Now.**_

“Yeah! From now on during sex, I’ll just start topping!”

“. . .”

Thinking that Levi didn’t understand how this could help, Eren further explained himself. “See, the whole problem basically stems from you wanting too much sex. With me bottoming every single time, my body just can’t take it anymore. But if we switch it up, I’ll have time to recuperate and you can still have sex whenever you want! Isn’t that perfect? Now we don’t need to take a break! The problem’s been solved! Plus, I feel bad that you never get to experience being the bottom and I don’t want to be selfish or anything, ya know?”

“. . .”

“Levi?”

“Eren . . .” Levi said seriously, placing both hands on Eren’s shoulders and looking deeply into his eyes. “I think we should take the break.”

_“WHAT?!”_

“You were right. It’s really not fair that I’m so demanding in the bedroom.”

“But –

“You need time away from me. And I need time away from you.”

“I –

“It’s better this way. See you in two weeks.”

“Wait a minute!” Eren yelled. “Hold on! What do you mean?? You were so against taking a break and now you actually _want_ to??”

Levi shrugged. “I’ve actually been thinking about it and I’ve realized that you were right. Didn’t you say something about me needing to miss you? I can’t really remember what you said, but I agree.”

“Ugh! Levi! Were you even listening to me that night I explained myself?? How can you agree with something you don’t even remember??”

“I just can.”

“No, you can’t! What’s wrong with you? Why do you want to take a break? Do you not love me anymore?”

“Tch, that’s not it at all and you know it. _You_ were the one who wanted a break so bad and now I’m allowing it. What’s the problem?”

Eren frowned, scuffing the heel of his foot against the ground innocently. “The problem is that I came up with a solution that doesn’t have to involve me taking a break . . .”

Levi also frowned, staring at Eren and wondering how the hell he was going to get himself out of this one. He had no clue as to where Eren got the idea that he was being selfish for bottoming during sex, and he was struggling to figure out how to explain to Eren that 1) it wasn’t selfish to bottom, and 2) _no one_ touched his ass except for _him,_ meaning Levi was **not** going to entertain the idea of switching during sex. It wasn’t happening and he could see Eren getting mad at him for it, but that was just too damn bad!

“So?” Eren asked, trying to keep the conversation from ending. “Now what?”

“Now,” Levi said, sitting down and turning on the television. “I watch _Judge Judy_ while you go and make dinner.”

“ . . .”

 _“Please,”_ Levi added when Eren didn’t move.

“You don’t want to bottom, do you?”

“ . . .”

“I knew it.”

Levi narrowed his eyes and placed the remote carefully down onto the coffee table, sliding away from Eren when the brunette took a suspicious seat beside him on the couch. “No, you didn’t. If you knew, you wouldn’t have talked about how you were feeling selfish for bottoming.”

“I just did that to test you. I could tell by the look on your face as soon as I mentioned it that you didn’t like the idea.”

“Why are you getting so close to me?”

“What’s wrong, Levi?” Eren asked innocently, moving onto his hands and knees as he crawled closer. “I just want a hug.”

“Then give me a hug. You don’t have to hover over me to do it.”

“I’m _not_ hovering over you.”

“. . . Eren STOP!!!”

Before Levi knew it, Eren had pinned him down with Hercules-like strength, daring to laugh at him as he struggled beneath him like a cockroach on its back. This proved many things, one of them being that he needed to get back into the gym pronto. Eren couldn’t have possibly weighed more than 130 pounds, yet him possessing the strength to pin him down and _keep_ him down was embarrassing.

“HAHAHA! How does it feel, Levi?!” Eren yelled excitedly. “You’re gonna get it now! Prepare thyself for penetration!”

“Get _off_ of me you little shit!!!” Levi growled.

“Why?? You don’t like this position? Would you rather be on your hands and knees then?”

“No!”

“Stop struggling, you butthead! Take off your pants!”

“No! Eren, enough alright?! Please stop! Please!! Okay?!” Levi begged, struggling to breathe through the building anxiety. “Come on, enough of this stupid shit! You can’t just pin me down like this knowing what I’ve been through!”

Eren’s face immediately fell and he quickly released Levi’s wrists only to bring his own hands together in front of his chest. “I’m _so_ sorry! I-I didn’t know! I won’t do it ever again!”

“ . . .”

“Are you okay?”

“No.”

“What?! I’m _sorry!”_ Eren promised. “I feel like I’m going to cry! What should I do??”

Levi allowed Eren to think he’d royally fucked up for just a few more seconds before flipping them over, this time pinning Eren beneath him, which was where his delicious little brat belonged in the first place!

“You can comfort me,” Levi told him. “By bottoming for me as long as we both shall live.”

Eren gasped. “You asshole!”

“This is what you get for not letting me watch _Judge Judy_ or having my dinner ready,” Levi chuckled, watching Eren’s face twist into one of pure rage. “What happened, brat? I thought it was Taco Tuesday? Where are my tacos?”

“In hell.”

“Odd place to put them.”

“I put them where you’ll be going so it’s actually not that odd at all.”

“That’s not a nice thing to say.”

“It’s not nice to pretend that something is traumatizing to you when it really isn’t.”

“Having you trying to force your dick into my ass is _extremely_ traumatizing,” Levi deadpanned. “No one touches my ass except for me. End of discussion.”

“Why can’t I do you?” Eren whined. “Just once?”

“No.”

“Pretty please??”

 _“No._ I top, you bottom. Those are the rules.”

“Rules were meant to be broken.”

“Then it’s a law.”

“Laws are meant to be broken too . . .”

“No, this is a law that governs reality. Like gravity.”

Eren poked his bottom lip out in indignation, instinctually opening his mouth when Levi bent down to kiss him. “Fine Levi. But if you’re going to have rules then so am I.”

“Alright. Name them.”

“We can only have sex three days a week,” Eren said, snickering when Levi’s face fell. “We can do other stuff though. You just can’t put it in.”

“Put it in? What are you, five?”

“No. I’m classy.”

When Levi didn’t respond to his claim, Eren took the hint and sat back up, pulling his legs onto the couch and leaning onto the older man’s shoulder.

“Armin had the nerve to call me nasty. Can you believe that?”

Levi gave him the side eye before returning his gaze to the television.

“Seriously?! Do _you_ think I’m gross too?!”

“Don’t put words in my mouth, brat. I never said that.”

“Then why won’t you respond??”

“Read my body language. If I truly thought you were gross, do you honestly think I’d let you sit this close to me or cook my meals?”

“I guess not . . .”

Before Eren knew it, he could feel Levi shifting around before pulling him into his lap. Eren squealed appreciatively in response and assumed his usual, curled up position, nuzzling his cheek against Levi's chest.

“Does this mean you aren’t hungry anymore?” he asked.

Levi shrugged. “How about we go out for dinner tonight? I haven’t treated you in a while.”

“Really?? Can we go get sushi?”

“We can go wherever you want.”

“You’re the _best,_ Levi!!”

 _That’s right, Eren . . ._ Levi thought evilly, cradling his tan beauty to his chest, eyes roaming over Eren’s form as though he were a piece of meat. _Keep believing I’m the best until we get back tonight . . ._


	29. Extra 3: Nightmare

After going to work as usual, Levi returned home to find Eren in the kitchen. He was wearing an apron, perched over the counter and leaning on both elbows as he read a recipe book intensely. As someone who had zero experience in the kitchen and probably couldn’t cook to save his own life, Levi had a lot of respect for his younger lover. Eren was good at _so_ many things – he could probably open up a restaurant, teach a yoga class, travel around the world building wells in impoverished nations, become a preacher at a church, etc. Nothing was off limits to him (except for singing, of course).

It was hard not be so proud of him. Even today, whilst Levi had been at work, Eren had managed to go to school, learn, come home and clean the apartment until it was spotless, and _now_ he was diligently learning a new recipe to cook for him because _that’s_ how good of a boyfriend he was.

Levi wondered why he hadn’t proposed yet as he moved over to the couch and sat down, forgoing television in favor of a book. As of right now he was tired and just wanted to relax, although he would make sure to properly thank Eren for dinner once they were seated at the table. He always did, but this time would be different. Maybe he could take Eren out somewhere for dessert after dinner? While Eren _always_ had fresh pastries prepared for their consumption, (this week Eren had prepared a lovely Bakewell tart) it was the thought that counted. Plus, Eren was always appreciative of whatever he did for him, and it was nice to go out and enjoy a piece of cheesecake made at someone else’s expense. And Eren _was_ pretty fond of that crunchy Nutella hazelnut whatever-the-hell-it-was-called cheesecake from _The Cheesecake Factory_. One bite made Levi feel like he could fall into a sugar-induced coma, but Eren always inhaled the whole thing within a few seconds and still had room for more.

“I hope I can get it right this time,” Eren mumbled, sighing to himself as he ran both hands through his hair. “If I don’t, Levi’s gonna kill me . . .”

 _Kill him?_ Levi thought, eyes drifting over to Eren who suddenly started to pace around the kitchen, repeating a list of ingredients to himself over and over again. Well . . . that wasn’t right. Why would he kill him? Levi wasn’t a picky eater or anything, and Eren knew better than to stress himself out over dinner.

“Okay, I think I’ve got it!” Eren said firmly. He began to take food out of the refrigerator and pots and pans out of the cupboards, nervously glancing up at the clock before paling. “Damn. I promised him I’d already have it cooking by the time he came home! Oh no . . . not again . . .”

What was Eren talking about?? He was sitting right here! Had Eren seriously not heard him come in and sit down ten minutes ago? Maybe he should say something? Actually, he should probably just take Eren out because this was getting ridiculous.

Before he could say anything though, the door opened, Levi stunned as he watched _himself_ walk in. It was strange to see himself interacting with Eren from his position on the couch, but the strangest part about this all was the fact that he couldn’t move . . . or speak. He was just trapped there, curiosity piqued as Eren swiftly turned around, hands clasped in front of him innocently. He loved it when Eren did that . . . it always made him look so cute.

“Hey stupid,” Levi said, and Levi swore he’d _never_ seen himself look so pissed off. “Well, well, well, what do we have here? It looks like you being fucking lazy as per usual and taking your sweet ass time with getting my dinner ready. You want me to fucking starve, Eren?! Huh?! DO YOU??”

Eren flinched at every other word, eyes slowly descending until they were on the floor. “I’m sorry, Levi. I –

“Actually, instead of ‘well, well, well’ I should have said ‘whale, whale, whale’ because you look fucking huge. You’re not supposed to eat half of the food as you prepare it and _then_ eat another portion on top of that when you serve me. Little bites here and there add up, idiot.”

From the couch, he watched in absolute horror as _he_ abused Eren right in front of him. Why was he acting like that?! Eren wasn’t fat at all! In fact, now that Levi looked more closely, Eren looked like he was _losing_ weight right before his eyes! He was withering away, almost becoming translucent as he nervously turned around and tried to continue cooking.

“It won’t take long,” Eren promised quietly. “Maybe about forty-five more minutes.”

“Forty-five minutes?!” Levi shouted, obnoxiously slamming his fist down on the counter and startling Eren into dropping a wooden spoon. “Look at you! Clumsy and stupid, you have zero-time management skills, you’re fat, you’re ugly, and instead of making things easier you just make them harder!”

“I know . . .” Eren mumbled, trying not to cry.

“No, you _don’t_ know! What if I want to entertain guests? I can’t have your stupid, useless ass walking around here with your head in the clouds like some sort of _moron,_ can I??”

Levi was confused. He and Eren _both_ knew that he never entertained guests! And why the hell was he being so insulting? Never, ever, _ever_ in his life had he imagined himself calling Eren names like ‘fat’ or ‘stupid’. He _loved_ Eren and he knew better than to treat him this way! All poor Eren was trying to do was stir something in a pot, but due to shaking in fear he could barely manage it. Standing absolutely still as though that would make him invisible, Eren stared with wide eyes at the food as it burned before him.

“What the _fuck_ are you doing?!” Levi snarled, angrily stomping into the kitchen, right up to Eren’s side. “Are you _serious?!_ Now you can’t even do _this?!_ Why the hell do I still waste my time on you?! You do nothing for me except get in my way!”

“I’m sorry,” Eren apologized. “I’m sorry, Levi. I’m _so_ sorry . . .”

“If you were sorry, you’d quit fucking up all the time! And how dare you act so selfish! I provide roof over your head, clothes on your back, and food on your plate, and all you care about is me, me, me! What are you sorry for, Eren?? Are you sorry _you’re_ so stupid that you get yelled at?! Because that’s not my fault! I didn’t ask for you to be born an idiot!”

“I’m really grateful . . .”

“Tch, you’d better be. No one else would let your stupid ass mooch off of them like I do!”

“. . .”

Levi scoffed, nearly giving Eren third-degree burns as he grabbed the hot pot off of the stove and emptied the sizzling contents into the trash. “Yeah, say nothing you little _bitch_ and do this shit over again. You must not have two brain cells to rub together if you think you’re going to serve me some burnt-ass shit like this!!!”

Eren was crying now, sobbing as he attempted to start over, and now Levi was struggling to move from the couch. How _dare_ whoever that monster was speak to Eren like that. That wasn’t him. Maybe it looked like him and sounded like him, but Levi would cut his own arm off before he spoke to Eren in such a degrading manner. He didn’t know what kind of weird simulation this was because this _had_ to have been a trick. He wasn’t like this. He wasn’t like _them._

“Why is this my life . . .?” Eren asked himself once Levi had left him in favor of the bedroom. “Sometimes I wish I could just run away. Anywhere has to be better than here . . . I wonder if I deserve this . . .”

 _No Eren, you don’t deserve it,_ Levi thought, wanting to run over to Eren and apologize, comfort him, tell him he’d never treat him like that and to wait there while he went and disposed of whoever that imposter was in _their_ bedroom. _He_ was the one who was truly useless, stuck to the couch by some invisible force, unable to talk to his lover that was currently sobbing as he desperately tried to cook a meal so that he wouldn’t get screamed at by his abuser.

“One day I’ll get out of here,” Eren continued somberly. “I’ll make it on my own. I’ll go somewhere else where he can’t find me. I’ll start a new life all by myself . . . I can’t trust anyone. Everyone just wants to hurt me . . .”

“Who are you talking to?!”

Both he _and_ Eren froze when the stranger walked out of the bedroom, looking absolutely insane as he headed into the living room. He took a seat on the couch _right_ beside him, almost so close that Levi could smell his cologne wafting off of him. If he could he would choke this bastard out right here, however his hands were simply too heavy to lift.

“You’re going to leave me??” Levi scoffed, leaning back against the couch and propping his feet up on the glass coffee table. “Yeah right! As if anyone would want you! You’re not good for anything, Eren. Get that through your thick fucking skull.”

“. . . I don’t care . . .” Eren said. “I don’t care if no one wants me . . . I just want to be alone.”

“Okay dummy, then how will you support yourself?”

“ . . .”

When Eren didn’t answer Levi laughed, the sound cruel and unnatural. “If you weren’t such a dead fish in the bedroom, _maybe_ you could prostitute yourself, but knowing your dumbass you’d probably just get AIDS and die within a month. You have to stay here and take care of the responsibilities _I_ give you! And you don’t have a right to fucking complain about it, alright?!”

“I hate you . . . please die. Just _die_ already, Levi.”

“Aww, you want me dead? You dare to wish death upon the person who takes care of you?! I work my fucking _ass_ off for you and _this_ is how you repay me!! Figures! You’ve been ungrateful since the moment you came into my life!”

“. . .”

When Eren didn’t answer again, Levi watched himself laugh once more before turning to face him. Even though he couldn’t move, he didn’t feel as though he should if given the chance. Something told him that he needed to face this _monster._ He may not have been able to speak, but he had its glare. They were identical, so he need not be intimidated by his own face, right?

“Looks like you need to start paying rent around here.”

Levi swore the devil was talking to him at this point, but he wouldn’t flinch.

“Tonight, I’ll let you help. It’s the least you can do for Mommy, right Levi?”

* * *

Eren felt the bed jostle and he groaned as he came to, groggily rolling over to stare at Levi who had already escaped his line of vision by running away. Figuring everything was fine, he attempted to go back to sleep, although he realized something was _definitely_ wrong when he could hear Levi throwing up in the bathroom.

“What the hell?” Eren asked, running into the bathroom to rub Levi’s back. He was still half asleep as he did so, although he didn’t dare leave Levi’s side at a time like this. They hadn’t been dating very long at all, but Eren felt he had some sort of a responsibility to comfort Levi.

“Are you okay?” Eren asked, backing off when Levi stood up and moved over to the sink to brush his teeth. He waited patiently for his reply, wondering if he was going to get one at all.

“I’m fine,” Levi sighed, attempting to return to bed without another word.

“Are you sick?”

“No.”

“Then what –

“Just drop it.”

Eren frowned. “Levi, why are you always so secretive? You’ve got to open up to me one day, you know . . .”

“I just want to go back to bed, Eren. I don’t want to talk about it.”

With much reluctance, Eren dropped it, sliding back into bed and curling up in Levi’s arms.

“I hope you’re not sick,” Eren said, reaching out and cupping Levi’s cheek affectionately. “You promised we’d go out tomorrow.”

“ . . .”

“Hello . . .?”

“ . . .”

“Don’t stare at me like that. It makes me self-conscious, ya know.”

“I hope I can be like that person.”

Eren frowned. “Huh? What person?”

Levi shrugged, unable to provide Eren with an answer since not even _he_ fully understood it. That nightmare had been **extremely** disturbing, not only because someone that looked like him had treated Eren so horribly, but because the person _he_ was supposed to be – the person helplessly frozen on the couch – seemed to know so much about Eren. That Levi knew Eren loved to cook and learn new recipes. He knew that Eren liked to do yoga and help people. He knew that Eren couldn’t sing. He called his bedroom _their bedroom._ He even knew that Eren liked a certain type of cheesecake from _The Cheesecake Factory_.

First of all, Levi hadn’t ever been to _The Cheesecake Factory_ in his life. Second of all, he’d never heard Eren sing, so how could he know, in a dream, that Eren _couldn’t_ sing? Really, he didn’t know much of anything when it came to Eren’s personality. They’d only been dating for around a few weeks at this point and even though he wanted to know _everything_ about Eren, he struggled to express this desire. Relationships were hard and Levi wasn’t very good at them yet.

This was why he hoped he could be like that Levi in the dream – the _good_ Levi that made Eren happy and knew so much about him. Not the evil Levi that seemed to represent –

“Close you eyes,” Eren cooed quietly, successfully lulling Levi back to sleep. “You need to rest so that – gah! You’re really strong, Levi . . .”

Eren struggled to breath when Levi crushed him to his chest, although his grip gradually loosened as he quickly fell back asleep. He was pretty sure that Levi had had a nightmare, but it seemed as though it was too traumatizing to talk about yet. After their first date disaster, Eren had learned a thing or two about not trying to act as though he knew everything about Levi’s past and his struggles. Since he wanted them to have a good day tomorrow, he wouldn’t ask about the dream. Instead, he would just enjoy himself, which wasn’t ever an issue.

Levi was an excellent boyfriend and he _always_ knew just what to do and say to make him happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :'(


	30. Extra 4: On Being Impulsive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't BELIEVE this story hit 10,000 views! I'm literally so overwhelmed with happiness - thank you all SO MUCH! <3

“Your hair’s gotten long,” Eren noted one night, running his fingers through Levi’s hair as the older of the two navigated through _Hulu_ for something to watch.

Levi was sitting comfortably between Eren’s thighs, leaning back against his chest and trying to stay awake as Eren raked his nails gently over his scalp. This eventually led to Eren pulling his hair into a ponytail and laughing obnoxiously about it, whining for a hair-tie for the purpose of tying it up on his head and turning him into a ‘girl’.

“It’s getting annoying,” Levi remarked. “My stylist will be in Cuba for another two months, but I’m not letting anyone else cut it.”

Eren busied himself with sectioning Levi’s hair into two ponytails before squealing. “HAHA! Oh my God, you look _soooo_ stupid!”

“You’re amused by the weirdest things.”

“Levi, I’ll do whatever you want for _two whole weeks_ if you wear your hair in two ponytails for a day. All you have to do is go into _one_ store and buy something.”

“I don’t know if it’s worth it.”

“Really? What about a month?”

“Why do you want me to go into a store looking like that?”

Eren laughed again. “Because it would be funny!”

“Yeah, for you,” Levi chuckled.

“On a serious note, you should keep it long like this. It looks good. Although this part back here needs to be shaved because it’s starting to look a little ridiculous.”

“I’ve been thinking about doing something different,” Levi said. “I might get it faded.”

 _“Yesss_ and get your ears pierced too!”

Levi tilted his head back and gave Eren a true look of incredulity at his suggestion, although Eren simply smiled innocently and said, “what? I’m just throwing ideas out there.”

“You want me to get my ears pierced?”

“Only if you want to.”

“Hmm . . . I’ll do it if you get a piercing too.”

“Sure. What do you want me to get pierced?”

“Your dick.”

Eren rolled his eyes before smiling. “Be reasonable.”

“Your bellybutton.”

“I can do that. That’d be cute!”

“Uh yeah,” Levi agreed, finally settling on _Amityville Horror._ “It’d be adorable.”

“Ew, is _this_ what we’re watching tonight? Really?”

“I watched _The Notebook_ with you the other night so now you have to watch this.”

Eren sighed, absentmindedly curling his fingers around the inky black strands of Levi’s hair in order to avoid the screen. “Fine.”

Levi selected the movie and adjusted himself so that he was perfectly comfortable, propping his arms up on Eren’s bare thighs. He didn’t understand how Eren could hardly wear any clothing around the house while he constantly felt as though he was about to freeze to death. He’d never complain about Eren’s choice of clothing of course, but he sometimes wished he possessed Eren’s body temperature.

“Do you think the piercing will hurt?” Eren asked, _totally_ not talking in order to distract himself from the horror happening on the screen. “I’m scared. What if it hurts?”

“It won’t hurt, brat. Twelve-year-old little girls get it done all the time.”

“I know, but I’m not good with pain . . .”

“If you can take a dick up the ass, you can take a hole getting punched through your body.”

“I don’t know . . . it’ll make me feel better if you get yours done too.”

Levi rolled his eyes at the notion. “No, Eren. I’m not getting my belly-button pierced. Now stop talking – I can’t concentrate.”

“Leviiii,” Eren whined, tightening his legs around his boyfriend. “I’m gonna strangle you.”

“You’re not doing a very good job.”

Eren squeezed him tighter, using all the strength he had to elicit a response from Levi, but to no avail. He eventually gave up and got quiet, snatching a pillow from beside him to hug when something gruesome came on. This was going to be a long, miserable night . . .

* * *

“Whoa . . .”

“What?”

“You . . . got your ears pierced?”

“Yeah. What about it?”

Hange and Erwin shared a look before sighing in unison, momentarily avoiding eye contact with their friend.

“And so, the midlife crisis begins . . . I just didn’t think it would hit this early.”

Levi rolled his eyes. “Fuck off, four-eyes. I didn’t hear you complaining when Erwin grew out his beard.”

“Ooh, yeah. That _was_ pretty bad.”

“Hange?!” Erwin cried. “Well, remember when I told you that you looked better with contacts? That wasn’t true!”

“Erwin?!”

Levi rolled his eyes before returning to his computer, planning on letting the two of them dish it out while he continued his work, but neither of his colleagues planned on backing off just yet.

“Was this one of those spur of the moment, impulsive decisions of yours?” Erwin asked, curiously.

“Nope. It was the brat’s idea.”

Hange narrowed their eyes and giggled as if they knew something no one else knew. “Ahh, I see, I see. It all makes sense now. Is he also the reason for the long hair?”

“No. My stylist isn’t in town at the moment. Although, Eren said it looked better this way.”

“Hmm . . .”

“I might not keep it like this though.”

“Why not??”

Well, he didn’t want to go into explicit detail, but a young woman at _Starbucks_ this morning _might_ have tried to get his number. She was unsuccessful of course, but that little bit of unwanted attention was enough to make Levi reconsider his new look. He didn’t even know how to respond since that kind of thing _never_ happened to him. Usually, everyone goes out of their way to avoid him, eyes shifting nervously between him and the floor as they hurry along.

Now people were treating him like some sort of celebrity – someone even took a picture of him. Who knew long hair and diamond studs held such immense power?

“It gets me attention and I don’t like it.”

“Grumpy, you’re the king of wanting attention,” Hange laughed. “Don’t act like you don’t love it when people want to be around you.”

“I’m in a long-term relationship. I don’t need the kind of attention this gets me. Unless people are willing to earnestly listen to a dissertation about my achievements in life, I don’t want to be bothered.”

Erwin smiled, nodding as he began a slow clap. “That’s the right attitude to have.”

“Tch, whatever. Don’t you go growing your hair out and getting your ears pierced. We’d have so many people coming in and out of this building trying to shoot their shot with you we’d never get anything done.”

“Levi, you’re too kind,” Erwin chuckled. “And believe it or not, I’m looking to settle down too.”

Hange gasped happily. “Aww, with Armin?”

“Nope. He lost that little coconut head a long time ago.”

Erwin looked disappointed and Hange crossed their arms, glaring at Levi as though they were about to scold him.

“What?”

“That was unnecessarily rude, Grumpy.”

“I’m always this rude.”

“When you got your ears pierced, I think they accidentally pierced your brain too,” Erwin said, chuckling as he turned around to leave. "I’m off to order some biotin and get my ears pierced. _I_ have the be the most attractive boss in this office at all times.”

“You know what’s _really_ attractive?” Levi asked. “Being fat and bald. I’ve heard that’s in.”

“Oh, did you?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I’ll take your advice since you’d never lie to me, right?”

“Right.”

“Fuck you.”

“You two,” Hange laughed, hands on Erwin’s shoulders as they attempted to lead him out. “Need to get along better.”

“You two need to get out of my office.”

“We had to come and see what Petra was so flustered over,” Erwin teased. “She was all sweaty and nervous and fidgety, so we figured it had something to do with you.”

_“Great.”_

Just when Levi thought things couldn’t get any livelier, Eren practically teleported into their space, happy-go-lucky as if he didn’t have other responsibilities (such as school, homework, etc.) to worry about. He _did_ have those other responsibilities, but Levi supposed Eren wouldn’t be himself if he prioritized school over goofing off.

“Are we having a little office party today, guys?”

“I thought you had a test today, brat,” Levi said, wheezing when Eren plopped down on his lap.

“Shut up, I’m not that heavy,” Eren scowled. “And I finished it early.”

“The culprit behind Grumpy’s new look arrives,” Hange announced. “Next thing you should work on is his attitude.”

Eren sighed. “Levi hasn’t been very responsive to training lately, have you, boy? OW! OW! OW! OW!! Hanji, Levi just pulled my belly-button ring!!!”

“Levi! Keep your hands to yourself!” Hange yelled.

“Tell the brat not to call me a – OW! He just _punched_ me in the side of the head. Did you see that?”

“Don’t pull my belly-button ring! You almost ripped it out!”

“Don’t be so dramatic.”

“And to think I came all this way to see you,” Eren huffed to himself. “You’re such a big meanie.”

“Whatever. And why are you two still here?” Levi asked and made a shooing motion with his hand. “You’re dismissed.”

“Get back to work then,” Erwin said, actually leaving this time. “We don’t pay you to goof off.”

“ _I_ pay me,” Levi corrected him. “And I usually don’t goof off, but the brat just _had_ to come and bother me.”

“You didn’t want me to come and see you?” Eren asked, frowning innocently. “I just came to say hi.”

“You never come to say hi. You can tell me hi in a text message. It’s unnecessary to come all the way here.”

“But you’re not a good texter. I always feel like I’m bothering you when I text you.”

“You _are_ bothering me.”

Eren sighed. “I’m sorry. I’ll leave if you really have a lot of work to do.”

“I’m kidding, Eren,” Levi said, wrapping his arms around Eren’s waist to keep him in his lap. “Show up unannounced more often. It’s been slow around here lately.”

“I’m glad it’s slow. When it’s slow, you’re not always leaving on business trips.”

“Get lonely without me?”

“Duh . . .”

“I need to get my act together and plan something for us, huh?”

Eren’s mouth dropped open in shock. “You? Plan? For us?”

“Yeah, why not?”

“I’m shocked, Levi . . . I don’t expect anything like that from you, so you don’t have to worry about it or anything.”

“I’m not completely inept at things like that, you little shit. Pack your stuff when we get home. We’re going to Hawaii for a week.”

“WHAT?!”

“You heard me.”

“Y-you _can’t_ be that impulsive,” Eren laughed, nervously. “S-seriously. If we want to take a trip like this, we need to sit down and plan it out.”

“We don’t need to plan it,” Levi said. “We just need to go. Once we’re there, we’re there, and then we’ll do whatever the hell calls to us.”

Eren was quiet for a moment as he reflected on Levi’s words, seriously considering the implications of just taking off to Hawaii for an entire week. This must be what rich people do – just pack up and leave without a word to anyone. He couldn’t lie and say the idea didn’t appeal to him because it _definitely_ did. Still, they weren’t _that_ kind of couple, were they?

“What are you thinking so hard for?” Levi asked, tapping Eren’s back to get his attention. “Give that little pea-sized brain of yours a break already.”

“Pea-sized??” Eren cried, flicking Levi’s forehead in retaliation. “My brain is huge thank you very much! You’re the one who has a pea-sized brain! Seriously, who thinks they can just jet off to Hawaii whenever they feel like it?”

“Me.”

“Think you can just do whatever you want, _whenever_ you want, Levi?”

“I _know_ I can.”

“You can’t if I say no.”

“That’s true. Wouldn’t be any fun waking up on the beach without you.”

“Aww, you want to wake up on the beach with me?”

“It’s Hawaii, not Alaska. Of course we’d wake up on the beach. Where else would we wake up?”

Eren rolled his eyes and kissed the slightly red area on Levi’s forehead he previously flicked. “You’re such a bully.”

“Thanks for putting up with it.”

“No problem.”

“Does your belly-button ring still hurt?”

“No. Is it red?”

Levi lifted Eren’s shirt to look at the jewelry, feeling his heartbeat pick up slightly at how cute it looked. “A little. When are you going to put the diamond one in that I bought you?”

“When it heals,” Eren laughed. “You know, you’re going to give yourself an infection from changing out your jewelry so quickly.”

“Tch. I wasn’t wearing fake ass shit around in my ears any longer than I had to.”

“Well, they look good.”

“Do they?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Some girl at _Starbucks_ thought they looked good too.”

“What?? Eww, no! Take them out!”

“Why?”

“What do you mean why?? You’re not allowed to get hit on by girls in _Starbucks!”_

“Relax brat,” Levi said, laughing when Eren stared at him emotionlessly, almost daring him to continue thinking the situation was funny. “In a couple of years, I won’t have much going for me. I’ll get old and I won’t be as appealing anymore.”

“That’s not true,” Eren argued. “You’ll always be very handsome.”

“I hope so.”

“Whatever. Anyways, it’s been like, an hour. I’ll go ahead and get out of your way.”

“I don’t get a kiss??”

“I don’t get a kiss?!” Eren repeated, mocking Levi in the most irritating voice he could muster before pecking him on the lips.

“Don’t go . . .”

Eren kissed him again, or maybe Levi kissed him, or maybe they both moved in at the same time because all of a sudden Eren was straddling Levi, his back to the unlocked office door as he ran his fingers through Levi’s hair. He soon realized that Levi’s long hair had quickly become a new obsession of his, since something about getting to run his fingers through the loose, un-gelled, soft, onyx strands of Levi’s hair drove him a _little_ insane.

“You’re going to make my hair greasy, brat,” Levi griped, pulling away from Eren to stare at him with that ‘I’ve had enough’ face he rarely used on his adorable younger lover.

Eren simply smiled and went back in for another kiss, effectively ending that conversation as he continued to play with Levi’s hair. Unfortunately (for Eren, at least) Levi took his revenge by ridding Eren of his troublesome shirt, his hands drifting downward to do the same to Eren’s shorts.

A small whimper momentarily stopped him, although he continued when Eren didn’t seem to be resisting.

“Someone might come in,” Eren said, although he maneuvered himself on Levi’s lap to facilitate the process of removing his shorts and boxers.

“No one will come in.”

“. . . We can’t. We don’t have lube.”

“I do.”

“Why do you have lube in your office?!”

“It’s not lube – it’s lotion.”

“Hmm. Sounds suspicious . . . especially when you’re still on probation.”

“Probation?”

Eren nodded. “I haven’t forgotten our little discussion about limiting the number of times we have sex per week.”

“Tch. I was hoping you did . . .”

“Oh, I know. Plus, you used one of your turns last night after the movie and since it’s only Monday, you’d better be pretty conservative with your two remaining chances.”

“Is this forever?” Levi asked desperately. “Is this my life now?”

“Of course not,” Eren laughed. “Your libido will eventually calm down and you won’t want to have sex every day.”

“Think so?”

“I hope so . . . or maybe I should step my game up and start having more exciting sex with you?”

“Nah. You satisfy me plenty just the way you are.”

Eren blushed happily, aggressively wrapping his arms around Levi’s neck and hugging him as hard as he could. “I love you.”

“I love you too, but don’t choke me.”

“I just love you so much, Levi. I love you _so much_ . . .”

“Brat,” Levi wheezed, trying to pull Eren’s arms off of him. “Do you hate having sex with me so much that you’d try to kill me?”

 _“Never._ Besides, we’re not even having sex,” Eren said, factually. “I’m just sitting naked on top of you.”

“You told me I couldn’t do anything.”

“We can still do other stuff, Levi!”

“No. I’m not a fourteen-year-old teenager trying to sneak around behind my mom’s back. There’s no point in this child’s play.”

Eren looked pensive, as if trying to think of a solution to both of their problems once again. When he couldn’t think of one, he just shrugged and offered his most adorable, pleading look. “Then do it for me. I feel like being fondled by my handsome boyfriend who’s fifteen years older than me and who’s taking me to Hawaii.”

His plea did not go ignored, and he giggled when Levi pulled him down into another kiss, gently running the backs of his fingers over his belly-button. Eren was almost a hundred percent sure that once his piercing had healed, Levi was going to be all over it with his lips and tongue, though he certainly didn’t mind the idea. He too had to keep himself from sucking on Levi’s pierced earlobes, the jewelry practically glaring at him, _beckoning_ him forward.

Instead, he occupied himself with Levi’s neck, moaning when Levi wrapped his hand around his cock and started pumping, slowly and torturously. The sensation traveled all the way to his toes, instantly reminding him of what had transpired last night. By now he’d gotten over most of his embarrassment when it came to sex and bearing his body to Levi (they’d been dating for almost a year after all), but sometimes Levi’s unblinking, serious-looking, psychopathic gaze got to him.

Even now Levi was staring, eyes focused intensely on Eren’s reddening cheeks and open, panting mouth. The building could collapse behind him and he probably wouldn’t even notice. He decided right then and there that getting to see Eren’s orgasm-face was probably worth suffering through a raging hard-on for the rest of the day. Greasy hair too, because Eren refused to stop touching it.

“Mmm, Levi,” Eren breathed, mostly draped over the older man at this point as he melted into the pleasure. “Faster . . .”

Thankfully, the hair pulling was accompanied by Eren moaning in his ear, so that made the messy hair completely worth it.

“Don’t make a mess,” Levi playfully warned him.

Eren whined in response, unconsciously opening his mouth to start sucking on the flesh right above Levi’s collarbone. And of _course_ he was going to make a mess – how could he not with his hot boyfriend jerking him off and pressing wet, sloppy kisses up and down his neck?

“Oh _God,”_ Eren groaned through gritted teeth, back straightening and fingers now fully tangled in Levi’s hair. “Mmm –

Levi leaned back, enjoying Eren’s tawny, thin body twisting around on top of him. He couldn’t lie and say that his own heart wasn’t racing in anticipation for Eren to finally cum and take those few shaky, deep breaths as he tried to recover, eyes glazed over and lips shiny and plump from having been chewed on . . . he _also_ couldn’t lie and say he didn’t study Eren every single time they had sex. Not only was it entertaining, but it was one of the most arousing things he’d ever seen. His brat was plenty lewd and didn’t even have to _try_ to get him in the mood – Levi was always ready to pounce on Eren regardless of what he was wearing, doing, or saying. That was what made Eren the perfect partner whether he knew it or not.

“S-stop!”

“Why do you want me to stop?” Levi asked, cruelly squeezing the base of Eren’s cock and watching him shiver. He only stopped for a moment though, continuing again with less pressure and at an less hurried pace, drawing out those low “mmm’s” that were half voice, half breath.

“It’s gonna get everywhere,” Eren whimpered, teeth gnawing at his bottom lip as he arched his back. His thighs were quivering, and he cried out in confusion when Levi ran his free hand up his left thigh and squeezed gently before continuing to move his hand along his body until it settled at his waist.

“Please don’t watch,” Eren begged softly, feeling his embarrassment spread all the way to his chest. He quickly covered Levi’s eyes only to receive a harsh slap on his ass that made him scream so loud he had to look over his shoulder and pray that the door stayed shut.

“Don’t _ever_ do that again,” Levi growled. “I mean it.”

“You’re such a pervert,” Eren cried, mouth remaining open to release tiny moans that quickly escalated in pitch. Closing his eyes due to being embarrassed and feeling like he would pass out if he kept them open any longer, he finally came, quivering and gripping Levi’s shoulders for stability as he tried to calm his racing heart.

Like a true predator, Levi licked his lips, watching Eren’s face relax into that familiar post-orgasmic expression he usually saw right before Eren nodded off to sleep. He took in those blue-green, half-lidded eyes and Eren’s slightly parted mouth, wishing that they were in bed instead of in his office. If they were in bed, Levi would do a _whole_ lot more than what he was currently doing, because even though he wanted to ram Eren until he was practically sobbing from the pleasure, he had to exercise some restraint due to being in his office. The door was also unlocked too, so he need not draw any unnecessary attention to them.

Eventually, Levi grabbed a tissue and cleaned up the mess, careful to not let a single drop stain his suit.

“I guess doing other stuff is fun too,” he commented, running his fingers along Eren’s spine and feeling goosebumps take over the areas of flesh he touched.

Eren nodded lazily, clinging to Levi and burying his nose into his collarbone in order to inhale his cologne. He was still woozy, and while Levi’s attractive scent wasn’t helping his situation any, Eren couldn’t help himself. He needed to be as close as possible to Levi now, almost feeling cheated by the fact that they weren’t in bed, cuddled up under the covers with Levi’s strong chest against his back and his arm wrapped possessively around his waist.

“Can you leave work now?” Eren asked hesitantly. He usually wouldn’t impose himself on Levi like this, especially because he respected the fact that Levi was a boss, but the hand-job had him feeling particularly needy.

“I would if I could,” Levi said. “But I can’t. You’ll have me all to yourself for a week soon.”

“You were actually serious?”

Levi sighed. “Have I ever lied to you?”

“No. But I don’t want to go back home alone . . . mmm, you smell nice . . .”

“Stop it, brat. I need to be wise with my two remaining turns.”

“Hawaii’s different,” Eren said, quickly. “We’ll have sex every day in Hawaii.”

“What happens if we _move_ to Hawaii?”

“I’m not moving to Hawaii, Levi.”

“You might change your mind when we get there.”

“If I do, _please_ tell me no.”

“I can’t tell you no.”

“Hmm, then I’ll leave something _really_ important here that will force me to come back!” Eren said, excited as though he’d figured out a sure proof way of ensuring he wouldn’t pull a Levi and demand that they properly move to Hawaii after visiting.

“You don’t have to leave anything,” Levi chuckled. “Your family is staying behind. If that’s not enough to motivate you to come back, nothing is.”

“Oh, you’re right! I forgot all about them!”

Eren laughed when Levi said nothing, apparently stunned into silence by the revelation.

“I didn’t actually forget,” Eren assured him. “I just don’t really think about them that often anymore.”

“I’m your world now, huh?”

“Well . . . I wouldn’t call you my _world.”_

“Well you’re mine.”

“Aww,” Eren giggled, leaning forward to kiss Levi again, this time refusing to pull away until at least fifteen full seconds had elapsed. “Before I leave, I’ll go ahead and help you out.”

Levi raised a brow in confusion, although it quickly fell when Eren moved under the desk, teasingly reaching up to undo his belt and free his straining, weeping erection. Without hesitation (and probably knowing that it had to be excruciatingly painful by now) Eren wrapped his lips around Levi’s cock before sinking down, listening carefully to the deep groan he elicited from him.

“Dr. Ackerman!!”

“W-what?!” Levi asked, eyes widening when the door to his office flew open and an employee walked in unannounced. “And fucking knock next time! What’s wrong with you?”

“S-sir, I’m just here to discuss last month’s sales report with you. Erwin wasn’t here last Friday so I just decided to wait until today to discuss it individually with each of you.”

“But –

“Sales decreased slightly last month, however it seems as though economic activity is declining across many businesses and firms, indicating that we might be heading for a small recession. It’s still too early to tell. Also . . .”

Levi desperately looked down at Eren who continued to bob his head. After a few moments had passed, Eren took the time to look back up at Levi to briefly meet his eyes - which were pleading with him to stop - but he decided to keep going, sucking harder and more vigorously, hallowing his cheeks out in the process. He could imagine that Levi was going to punish him for his behavior when he came home this evening, and just the thought of being punished had Eren working  _extra_ hard to bring Levi to a heart-pounding, jaw clenching orgasm.

After all, Levi's punishments were usually quite enjoyable . . .


	31. Extra 5: Halloween

Today was a great day. Eren hadn’t stopped giving him attention since last night and it was already six o’clock in the evening the next day! Many would think Levi the type to enjoy his own personal space, or the type that thrived on being left alone so that he could think. However, Eren had become a large part of his personal space. His brat was just as necessary as the air around him, and Eren always knew how to adjust his attitude to fit his and it made Levi feel so complete. When he needed silence, Eren was quiet. When he wanted Eren to talk his ear off, Eren ran his mouth for hours. When he wanted to lie down on Eren’s lap and have Eren run his fingers through his hair, Eren was right there waiting for him.

Eren knew him almost _too_ well, which he had to give him props for. Yes, even Levi knew that his attitude could be a _little_ unpredictable. Also, he could probably do with some sort of medication, but he’d be damned if he ever saw a psychiatrist. All he needed was Eren, and with more time, he’d mellow out . . . _probably._

“Levi! Come make shortbread with me!” Eren demanded.

He left his place in front of the television instantly, eager to report to Eren’s side and make those gay ass cookies with him. Whatever made his little brat happy, he’d do.

“Fine. What do I need to do?”

“Can you measure out two cups of flour and half a cup of sugar for me?”

Levi was reaching into the cabinet above Eren’s head, trying to ignore the memories of fucking Eren in the kitchen that threatened to take over his stream of consciousness, when a knock at the door startled both of them.

“Who dares to interrupt our fucking Sunday?”

Eren laughed and turned around to lean against the counter. He was right underneath Levi’s body, the perfect distance away to lean up and kiss him.

“Don’t use ‘fucking’ and ‘Sunday’ in the same sentence. It’s blasphemous.”

“You’re pretty blasphemous yourself in that apron and those glasses.”

“Domestic is the word you’re looking for.”

Levi was prepared to flirt back when the knock came again, followed by “it’s Erwin,” and then Levi _really_ didn’t want to answer the door. Not only did that prick know he spent his Sunday’s with Eren, he also knew that he wasn’t welcome in his home on the weekend. Levi spent _all_ week at work with Erwin – he wanted to spend at least _two_ days without him!

“Get the door,” Eren chided, pushing Levi away from him. “Don’t leave your friend out there like that!”

“The friend that almost destroyed our relationship?” Levi asked, but headed over to the door anyways. “What do you want, Erwin?”

“I come with great news!” Erwin announced in his normal booming voice. “It is of much concern! Please make haste and open your door so that I may inform you of it at once!”

Eren giggled at the way Erwin attempted to get Levi to open the door and Levi soured from hearing Eren laugh at someone other than him. Ripping open the door, he stood aside and let Erwin in, steely eyes following the man to ensure he obeyed every rule in his home. Erwin did of course, and with utmost perfection, which only served to piss Levi off more.

“What’s your big blonde ass want on a Sunday at six?” Levi huffed, taking a seat at the bar before motioning over to Eren. “And make it quick. We’re trying to bake shit.”

“You’re baking _shit?”_ Erwin asked. “Sounds unsanitary.”

Eren walked over to Levi and wrapped his arms around him from behind, kissing his cheek affectionately. “Erwin don’t tease him. I’ve had him in a good mood all day.”

“It’s actually not Levi I’m here to talk to,” Erwin revealed, smiling at Eren. “I wanted to talk to you.”

“About what?” Eren asked, and casually placed his hand over Levi’s mouth so that he couldn’t interrupt.

“About Armin. I think I’m ready to get back together with him.”

At that, Eren rolled his eyes. “Oh.”

“I’m a little confused because he’s ignoring my texts and calls.”

“Is he? How weird . . .”

“I _thought_ you would think it’s weird . . .” Erwin said. “Is he okay?? He’s not hurt or anything, right? I’ve thought about stopping by his home, but I know he lives on campus so I figured that I should just ask you.”

Eren looked confused. “What do you mean? You aren’t on a break. You _broke up.”_

“Oh, I know.”

“So, what do you mean by you’re ready to get back together with him? I thought it was over? Armin said it was mutual and everything.”

“Well, it _was,”_ Erwin chuckled awkwardly. “But . . . I want him back.”

“Erwin, if he’s not taking your calls and ignoring your texts, he probably doesn’t want to talk to you _or_ get back together with you. He said your relationship just fizzled out.”

Erwin stared at Eren blankly until he saw Levi’s eyes crinkle, indicative of the fact that he was smiling, and he narrowed his own eyes in response. “Levi, it’s not funny.”

“If you want,” Eren offered, “I can talk to Armin about it. Just don’t expect anything. Armin is too smart to be led around by anyone.”

“I wasn’t leading him around . . .”

“Well, you should tell him that.”

“I will. And I’d like to get your advice on the rest of my apology. If I were to take him out on a date, where would you suggest we go?” Erwin asked.

Levi’s eyebrows raised at Erwin’s question. He had to hand it to him: Erwin wasn’t the type of guy to be deterred by _anything,_ including asking for dating advice from a teen. Levi wouldn’t be caught _dead_ asking someone for advice on how to please Eren. He had a _huge_ brain, full of incredible ideas, and as a result, he used it. Of course, even if Levi were offered advice that he ended up using from someone else, he would just lie and say he came up with it by himself if Eren asked.

This would never happen though.

Levi had been with Eren long enough to know what made him happy . . . he couldn’t say the same for Erwin though!

Eren smiled. “You’re actually pretty lucky that it’s October, because Armin _loves_ haunted houses.”

“Really??”

“Yup. He loves anything spooky. And he doesn’t get to go to haunted houses often because, like, I’m his best friend and _I_ obviously can’t do them, and if he has to go without me the whole experience is ruined.”

“A haunted house sounds fun . . . Er-

“No.”

Erwin chuckled at Eren’s instant response. “You don’t even know what I was going to ask you.”

“If you’re going to ask Levi and I to double date with you, _at a haunted house_ , the answer is no.”

“How come?”

“I don’t like scary stuff.”

“Not even a haunted house? Stuff like that isn’t even real.”

“What do you mean by ‘not even a haunted house’?” Eren asked with more incredulity than he’d ever asked a question with before. “Haunted houses are _very_ real! It’s movies that aren’t real, and I can barely handle those! Sorry, but the answer is no.”

Erwin frowned. “But it’ll be awkward if it’s just us. I don’t want him to know that I’m trying to win him back. That would be too obvious and then he _really_ won’t take me back. It would be best if you orchestrate it all, pretending that you and Levi are going on a date. Then you can invite Armin along, and then tell him that you’re inviting me so that he’s not the third wheel.”

“First of all, why are old men so demanding? And second of all, if I invited Armin to come on a date with Levi and I, why the _hell_ would I invite his ex-boyfriend so that he’s not the third wheel? That doesn’t even make any sense!”

“We’re not exes – we’re friends. Because our break up was amicable, we’re still on good terms.”

“Then if you’re on good terms why do you need me?”

“Because the more casual it is, the more likely it is that he’ll give me a chance!”

Eren shrugged. “Is that how it works?”

“I _think_ so. Levi, crunch the numbers for me.”

“Crunch what numbers?” Levi scoffed behind Eren’s hand. “If you want that little coconut head back so bad, just ask him.”

“He’s _not_ a coconut head,” Erwin muttered. “And I _am_ asking. I’m asking Eren for help.”

“I told you what to do,” Eren said. “Take him to a haunted house.”

“I am, but I want you and Levi to come too.”

“I can’t.”

“Fine. Levi and Hange.”

Levi rolled his eyes. “I’m not going with that maniac. Besides, I don’t find shit like that enjoyable.”

“You don’t find _anything_ enjoyable. But you could at least tolerate a haunted house, right?”

“Doesn’t matter. I’m not taking Hange on a haunted house date. I already have a date and he doesn’t want to go.”

“Aww,” Eren cooed, and pressed more wet, sloppy kisses against Levi’s cheek. “You’re the best, Levi!”

“No, he’s not,” Erwin refuted sadly. “He doesn’t even want to accompany his best friend on a double date so that said friend can win back the affections of his one true love. . .”

Eren’s eyes widened. “Oh . . .”

“Don’t listen to him, Eren,” Levi snorted. “Do you know how many people this creep’s called his ‘one true love’? Let him deal with his heartbreak on his own – he’ll get over it.”

Erwin crossed his arms. “I’m serious this time. I’ll admit, I’ve dated a lot of men and women in the past, but I’m usually already over things before _I_ break up with _them._ Armin broke up with me and even though it's been two weeks, I can’t stop thinking about him.”

“Two weeks, huh?” Levi scoffed. “You poor thing.”

“. . . Shut up.”

“You shut up!”

“Okay, okay,” Eren sighed. “That’s enough. And look Erwin, if you’re really serious about Armin, I’ll let him know. But I _can’t_ go with you . . . this is going to sound really stupid and embarrassing, but Armin and I went to a haunted house when we were fourteen, and Michael Myers jumped out to scare us and . . . I peed my pants.”

“HAHA!”

“Levi, shut up!!!” Eren screamed. “It was really embarrassing! I started crying, I collapsed onto the ground, and _then_ I started having a panic attack! Michael Myers had to pick me up and carry me out of the house and wait with Armin and I until my mom came and got us! It was traumatizing!”

“You’re right,” Levi agreed, after gaining control over himself following that random laughter that erupted from him. It had definitely felt weird, but not unpleasant at all . . . actually, the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to laugh again. “That’s horrible, Eren.”

“Use this as an opportunity to redeem yourself,” Erwin said. “You should face your fears. It’ll help you grow as a person.”

“Ugh, don’t use my own rhetoric on me,” Eren groaned, but then perked up. “Wow, I just used a pretty big word! I wish Armin was here to hear it though.”

“Tell him about it at the haunted house.”

“You really aren’t going to let this go, huh?”

“No.”

“Levi probably doesn’t even want to go,” Eren said, and then squeezed Levi’s shoulder _extra_ hard before he allowed him to answer. “Isn’t that right?”

Levi knew what he was _supposed_ to say, but something about Eren peeing his pants at a haunted house was hilariously humiliating and Levi wouldn’t mind if it happened again. Hmm . . . Eren wetting himself and then crying about it . . . that actually sounded kind of hot . . .

“I don’t mind going.”

“What?! Levi??”

“Great!” Erwin exclaimed, thinking that a true Halloween miracle had just taken place. Levi? Leaving the comforts of his apartment to go to a haunted house full of unfamiliar people? It was simply unheard of, although Erwin wasn’t going to question it!

“It’ll be fun, brat. I won’t let anyone get near you so don’t worry about it.”

“I didn’t say I was going?!”

“You’re going.”

“No, I’m not, Levi.”

“Yes, you are, Eren.”

“I’ll find a good place and text you the details,” Erwin told Levi, and made a quick exit before he had to witness the inevitable argument that was sure to follow.

“Have fun. I’ll wait up for you.”

Levi crossed his arms. “Grow up. You made me face my fears and now it’s my turn to make you face yours.”

“That’s a cheap shot,” Eren mumbled, knowing that Levi had truly gone through hell and back trying to recount his past to him. A haunted house was probably nothing compared to what his boyfriend had gone through, but Eren wasn’t joking around: he truly _was_ scared of haunted houses and scary things in general. He probably had a phobia . . .

Oh no, what if just _approaching_ the area sent him into another panic attack? He hadn’t been to one since _the incident,_ so he was unsure as of how he might react. What if the paramedics had to be called?? What if, due to his fear, he fell into a coma he never awoke from?!

“Levi, listen to me. I _actually_ don’t think I can. I’m not making my fear up . . .”

“I know what it’s like to be scared of something. I was scared of reliving my past for two decades. But I was able to work through my biggest fear because you were there with me.”

“At least you didn’t pee on yourself while doing it . . .”

“You’re not going to pee on yourself,” Levi said tiredly, and then mentally added. _“But if you did, I wouldn’t mind . . .”_

Whew! It was a good thing the impulse monster didn’t make him say that one out loud, because then Eren really wouldn’t go!

Eren sighed heavily. “Fine, I’ll go. Just let me text Hanji.”

“Who?”

 _“Hanji._ You know, our friend.”

“Why are you inviting them?”

“Because having them there will make me feel better.”

“Am I not enough??”

“Don’t turn this into another argument! If I’m going to do this, I want to feel completely comfortable! Besides, I have a feeling you’ll pester me and make fun of me the whole time, and if I start having anxiety, Hanji will calm me down!”

Levi growled, watching Eren invite the nuisance along with them via text. He obviously didn’t hate Hanji, but now he wasn’t going to be able to hog Eren all to himself which bugged him.

Eren raised a brow and pursed his lips. “Don’t look at me like that. You can go three hours sharing my attention with someone else.”

“Tch. I know that.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“The problem is that you aren’t sitting on my lap trying to feed me shortbread,” Levi said, and then caught Eren when he jumped on him affectionately. He kissed him softly, too soft for Levi’s liking, so he deepened the kiss, forcing Eren’s mouth open along the way.

After only a few minutes though, Eren pulled away. “Okay, let’s make the cookies. I’m excited since you offered to let me feed you.”

“Did I say something like that?”

“Yes!”

Levi acted like he was giving in because of the hopeful expression Eren was giving him, but he’d never _actually_ contemplate having Eren on his lap feeding him cookies – he would _gladly_ let Eren treat him like a king whenever he wanted to.

“Alright. Get your fine ass in the kitchen then.”

* * *

Eren was sitting nervously on the bed, kicking his legs back and forth as he waited for Levi to emerge from the closet. One thing he’d learned about living with Levi was that Levi always took longer than him to get ready. Eren knew the man was a perfectionist, but damn, who could spend _that_ much time looking at themselves in the mirror?! Maybe if he was as hot as Levi he could understand, however, spending twenty minutes just to ‘check and make sure everything was in order’ as Levi liked to put it, was a little excessive in Eren’s book. He couldn’t _believe_ he wanted Levi to hurry up either. In fact, because they were about to enter his worst nightmare, Eren thought he’d be dreading the moment Levi walked out of the closet . . . actually, he probably was.

No, he _definitely_ was, and before he knew it his body was forcing him up and towards the bathroom to pee for what had to have been the fiftieth time today. Eren had been very wise with his water consumption too! He was careful not to drink more than twenty ounces of water over the course of the _entire_ day, yet he must have urinated triple that amount. Literally, he was scared pee-less.

“I’m going to pee on myself,” Eren practically sobbed to himself as he exited the bathroom and threw himself back onto the bed. With the negative affirmations floating around in his head now stronger than ever, Levi exited his closet and announced that it was time to go. Eren felt the bed dip beside him, the action sending a wave of Levi’s cologne towards him, and he inhaled the scent deeply to calm down.

“We don’t have all night,” Levi grunted when Eren didn’t move.

The brunette rolled onto his side to look at Levi’s choice of outfit and cursed anything that happened to be listening. Levi was just casually sitting there, leaning back on one arm, clad in dark red checkered flannel with a brown V-neck sweater over that. He was also wearing Eren’s weakness: a black jean and combat boot combination. Levi looked like a fucking model, the dazzling sight making Eren want to pee again.

“Levi,” Eren whined, wiggling closer to place his head on Levi’s lap. “You’re hot.”

“I know.”

Eren smiled appreciatively when Levi pushed him onto his back and crawled on top of him, immediately opening his mouth when Levi moved in for a kiss. Hopeful that a hot steamy make-out session would calm his nerves before they left, Eren wrapped his legs around Levi’s clothed waist, unintentionally digging his heels into Levi’s back and forcing the older man to grind their hips together to escape the pressure. Eren was instantly made aware of Levi’s bulge as a result, and he gasped when Levi’s hand slipped into his underwear to massage his aching erection.

“You’re going for it, huh?” Eren asked breathlessly, eyes falling shut as Levi’s hand worked him.

“You’re the one that wanted it,” Levi answered, as if trying to defend his own behavior.

“Nu uh. I just wanted to make out a little.”

After gathering a favorable amount of precum, Levi’s fingers began probing at Eren’s entrance, slipping inside deftly. It helped that they’d already had sex this morning and Levi definitely didn’t mind going at it again, especially right before Hange was going to come in between them for the remainder of the night. Using one hand to push Eren’s shirt up and the other to jerk Eren’s insanely tight leggings off, Levi allowed a comment of concern to slip out of his mouth before ravaging Eren’s still swollen nipples.

“Do these things keep you warm?”

“Yeah. They’re insulated fleece leggings. I don’t know about you, but I plan on doing some running tonight.”

Levi chuckled at the image of Eren running away from a kid that was probably younger than him dressed up as a monster, but then his mind began to contemplate losing Eren in the process, and he angrily bit one of Eren’s nipples to leave his teeth marks around it.

“My nipple,” Levi growled, sucking on the flesh and ignoring Eren’s giggle from above him. Levi wasn't really sure what the laughter was about – Eren’s nipples belonged to him just like the rest of Eren did.

With the hand that was previously fingering his boyfriend, Levi unzipped his pants and freed his aching cock that was begging for attention. Ironically enough, he'd developed a strange habit of refusing to touch himself while he pleasured Eren because it made the moment he sank into that velvety heat all the more intense . . .

“WAIT!” Eren suddenly screamed, flinging Levi off of himself and hopping towards the bathroom because his pants were around his ankles. "I've gotta pee!!”

Levi smiled like an idiot to himself, watching Eren’s ass jiggle with every hop, _way_ too excited to tap that when Eren returned. He felt his phone buzz in his back pocket and he absentmindedly pulled it out to see a message from Hange.

Hange: _I’m waiting . . ._

Hange: _Actually, we ALL are! In the lobby! Hurry it up, Grumpy! I promise you look fine!_

Hange: _Make sure u cover that bald spot though!!! :P_

“Bitch,” Levi grumbled, ignoring them in favor of Eren who was hobbling back over to him. “On your knees: I want to look at your ass.”

When Eren hesitated Levi finished his sentence. “Please.”

Eren smiled and assumed a position on all fours, wincing when he felt the latex material against his entrance. “Aww, you’re using a condom?”

“We can’t afford the mess.”

“Oh . . .”

“I’ll do you plenty without a condom when we get back, Eren,” Levi offered. “It’s flattering that you prefer my cum in you, though.”

“Yeah,” Eren murmured sadly. “When we do it with a condom it makes me feel lonely inside . . . and when I don’t feel the evidence of our lovemaking inside of me it feels like I didn’t do a good job . . .”

Levi’s condom was off and on the floor, and he was inside of Eren in less than half a second. Happy, content moans filled his ears when he bottomed out, and he'd never been more honored to make a mess of someone in his entire life, especially after hearing something like _that._ How Eren could continue to be so adorable after this many months of being with him completely baffled Levi.

“You always do a good job,” Levi breathed, pulling out of Eren briefly before slamming back in, reveling in the feeling of Eren’s ass clenching around him.

He set an even pace, nothing too hurried because he couldn’t give damn about their friends waiting for them downstairs. Levi wanted, no _needed_ to make his cute boyfriend feel loved, and what better way to do that other than viciously filling him with the seed he craved so much? Levi placed one hand on Eren’s hip to keep his rhythm steady and used the other one to pull one of Eren’s shapely cheeks apart so that he could view that greedy hole swallow him up repeatedly.

“Levi . . .” Eren moaned softly, thrusting his hips back against Levi’s, eager to match his pace. He focused intensely on Levi’s bare cock inside of him, rubbing his insides and igniting the flames of arousal within. To some it may be strange, but Eren had had sex with Levi in the past using a condom, and the feeling could never compare to the one he felt now. His channel had practically memorized every groove, vein, and curvature of his boyfriend’s cock. A condom didn’t allow for Levi to create that same hot friction within him, didn’t send those same toe-curling sparks of electricity throughout his body, didn’t give Eren that same satisfaction he always got after Levi came in him.

“Mmm Levi . . .” Eren continued, closing his eyes to _fully_ focus on that feeling coming from behind. “I-it feels so good . . . I love you s-so much . . .”

“I love you too,” Levi groaned, dropping his head against Eren’s back. “I’ll never use a condom again if that’s what you want, baby.”

Eren bit his lip, now desperate for Levi to fill him. “Yes . . . please cum in me . . .”

Levi was even more desperate than Eren was, urgently wanting to do what that sweet voice begged him for. He could feel Eren seize up beneath him before that familiar sensation of Eren tightening around him followed, and Levi growled pridefully at Eren cumming just from having his ass fucked – by _him._ With just a few more powerful thrusts, Levi almost bit through his lip as he released in Eren, though not due to the sensation taking him by surprise, but more so due to the power behind it. His orgasm now had certainly been more intense than the one he’d had this morning: he damn near felt like he was emptying his soul into Eren.

Instead of collapsing on top of him like he wanted to though, Levi was careful to pull out before pressing his thumb against Eren’s entrance to keep him from leaking everywhere.

“Have any ideas on how you’re going to keep from making a mess all over yourself?” Levi asked.

“I can hold it in until I get to bathroom,” Eren giggled. “Don’t worry. I won’t make a mess.”

“Except for the one you already made,” Levi said, and gestured to the puddle of cum underneath Eren’s stomach.

“I sowwy, Levi.”

“Tch whatever. We’ll never get out of here if you don’t stop being so fucking cute. Hange is already blowing up my phone.”

Eren’s mouth dropped open in shock. “Oh shit! I forgot all about that!”

“Oh?” Levi asked, trying not to puff out his chest proudly. “My cock made you –

“Shut up! Text Hange that we’re on our way! I have to pee again and make myself look presentable!” Eren interrupted, hobbling off to the bathroom for a final time. “Don’t just sit there!? Make yourself useful and text them!”

“Brat,” Levi grumbled, tucking himself back into his pants and texting Hange as per Eren’s instructions. “Last time I ever share a tender moment with you!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 drops next week!


	32. Extra 6: Halloween Pt. 2

“Sorry we’re late,” Eren said, hurrying over to the group of three waiting silently in the downstairs lobby of Levi’s apartment.

The awkwardness stemmed from Armin being too hesitant to talk with Erwin which left Hange to divide their attention between the two of them so that the atmosphere didn’t crumble. They’d obviously been informed of Erwin’s plans for tonight and wanted to help him out, but they were a little in over their head. This wasn’t a Levi/Eren type of situation. Because Armin and Erwin were still (sort of) on good terms and they were so similar in personalities and temperaments, it was like trying to help two siblings flirt and nothing was working out.

Thank goodness Eren was here since Hange was more than ready to pass the matchmaking torch to him!

“You're really late,” Erwin chuckled, eyes raking up and down Levi’s form.

“Stop undressing me with your eyes,” Levi scoffed, leading the way outside of the building. “I’ve already been told I look good tonight, and I don’t need your help confirming it.”

Erwin dared to flick Levi on the back of the head, watching Levi’s skin erupt in goosebumps due to the stress of having someone touch him. “I wasn’t undressing you with my eyes. Just noticing how relaxed you look.”

“I’m always relaxed.”

“Ha!” Hange laughed. “The only time you’re probably ever relaxed is in your sleep, Grumpy. And why didn’t you respond to my texts?? What were you doing to my little angel up there?”

Levi looked at Hange as though they were crazy – which they were. “Eren is _my_ angel.”

“I’m _everyone’s_ angel,” Eren corrected happily. “Please everyone, get in line. I’ll make sure to sign all of your posters of me.”

Armin looked relieved. “Thank God. Is it okay that I used my poster of you as a placemat and spilled coffee on it? I also ran out of toilet paper and had to tear off a corner of it to use instead, so I hope you don’t mind.”

“You hoe!” Eren cried. “You don’t get to buy my merch, use it as toilet paper, and _then_ have me sign it! How dare you!”

“You think I bought it? I won it at a raffle. It was either your poster or a box of tampons, so I just figured I’d go with lesser of two evils.”

When everyone - save for Levi - started laughing at him, Eren simply crossed his arms and pursed his lips, attempting to continue to rest of the walk to Levi’s car in silence.

“I’m just kidding,” Armin chuckled, wrapping his arms around Eren in an unreciprocated hug. “I’d put a poster of you on my wall behind bulletproof glass casing in a heart-beat. You know that.”

“. . .”

“Besides, I’m trying to lighten the mood,” Armin continued. “I know you’re probably freaking out about the haunted trail walk.”

“H-haunted trail w-walk . . .?”

“Yeah. It looks really fun! You show up, the owners probably tell you a little story about how the trail became haunted, and you walk through it and try to find your way out in the dark!”

Eren gasped.

“I checked the website already! Michael Myers, Freddy, Jason, Ghostface, and all of the iconic scary movie characters are going to be there!”

Another gasp.

“And there’s chainsaws!”

An even louder gasp.

“And someone apparently died there two years ago and the place almost got shut down due to the lawsuit!!!”

The loudest intake of air in the history of intakes of air.

“We’re going to have a blast,” Erwin chuckled.

Armin nodded excitedly. “I agree. But Eren, it’s a little weird that you and Levi are going on a date at a haunted trail walk . . . I thought you didn’t like stuff like this? Especially after what happened five years ago . . .”

The only thing that was keeping him from passing out was the fact that his best friend was so excited for this. Unfortunately, Eren felt like he could throw up, and that was _not_ an exaggeration.

“L-Levi likes stuff like this . . .” Eren lied weakly. “We always go where I want to go on dates, so I let him pick this time . . .”

“Well, I’m glad you invited me along!” Armin beamed, totally oblivious to Eren’s display of extreme discomfort. “And Erwin, I didn’t know you liked stuff like this either.”

“Really? I think haunted houses, woods, trails, and scary things in general are great.”

“Oh. That’s cool.”

“Y-you and Erwin have s-so much in common,” Eren said, falling pathetically against Levi’s car. Even though he was practically dying, he was still trying to help Armin and Erwin’s situation since he promised to. “Eeeuuuggghhh . . .”

“Armin,” Erwin announced. “Will you do the honors of riding with me?”

Too excited to say anything else other than yes, Armin agreed before excitedly slapping Eren on the back. “See ya there, buddy! This is gonna be great!”

Armin flitted away, leaving Eren to open the backdoor of Levi’s car and crawl in on his hands and knees. He would need to lie down for this one . . .

“If you throw up in my car,” Levi threatened, cranking the car up and staring threateningly at Eren in the rearview mirror. “That’ll be the end of you. I mean it.”

“End of me . . .?” Eren whined, cradling his stomach.

“You heard me.”

“Levi!” Hange scolded, having slid into the passenger seat and buckled up before Levi could deny them entry into his vehicle. “Don’t bully him! You’ll make him more nervous! I can feel the poor thing’s anxiety from here!”

“Y-yeah Levi,” Eren groaned and hiccupped. “O-Oh God . . .”

“If you need to vomit, go ahead,” Hange told him gently. “The car can be cleaned.”

“Fuck you, no it can’t. Eren, vomit in my car and I’ll dress up like Michael Myers and violate you until you piss yourself.”

“GRUMPY! Watch your mouth!”

Eren curled up into a ball, trying to rock himself to sleep so that he didn’t have to suffer until they actually arrived. Then Levi started humming the Michael Myers theme song and Eren swore that he was going to abstain from Levi for the rest of the year because what a fucking asshole.

“Okay, I’ll stop,” Levi chucked, finally leaving the parking lot and following after Erwin.

“I wouldn’t tease him if I were you,” Hange warned playfully. “I can tell why you’re in such a good mood, and if you keep this up, you probably won’t be in this good of a mood for a _loooooonggggg_ time.”

 _Bless you, Hanji,_ Eren thought, wishing that he could open his mouth and say it. Unfortunately, the queasiness inside kept him from doing anything other than remain very still.

“Fine. No one ever wants me to have fun anyways.”

“Don’t be a victim, Levi.”

“I’m not.”

“Yes, you are! You can have fun, but not at my precious cinnamon roll’s expense! Keep bullying him and you’ll be walking that trail alone!”

Though Hange was scolding them, their tone wasn't reprimanding in the slightest. As always, they were simply teasing Levi, slowly watching him crumble under their constant talking. Annoying Levi was Hange’s favorite game!

“In your dreams,” Levi said. “That brat won’t leave my side the entire time we’re there.”

“Yeah, and neither will I.”

“You never have, so I’m used to it.”

Hange smiled evilly. “But you wouldn’t have it any other way, would you? Because if not for me, you wouldn’t have Eren!”

Levi checked the rearview mirror again to see Eren’s curled up form trembling underneath his jacket and rolled his eyes. “What a lucky guy I am.”

“You _are_ lucky! Especially because Eren was nice enough to give you a quickie before you left!”

“ _I_ did that for _him,”_ Levi explained. “Helps him calm down apparently.”

 _I will kill you,_ Eren thought to himself. _Fucking narcissistic, egotistical, arrogant, sack of –_

“Well, looks like you didn’t do too good of a job,” Hange chucked. “You’re getting old and your techniques are failing you. But don’t worry Grumpy, it happens to all of us.”

Eren relaxed when Hanji came to his rescue once again. He knew they’d won when Levi went silent and Hanji started laughing, apologizing and trying to get him to talk again. And somehow, because he knew Levi’s ego had been so bruised that he couldn’t speak, Eren was beginning to feel a little bit better . . .

* * *

Still, Eren threw up once they arrived, and close enough to Levi’s car to frustrate the older man to the point of yelling at him for it.

“At least it wasn’t _in_ your car, you asshole!” Eren yelled back, wanting to punch Levi in the face. “Just leave me alone if you’re going to yell at me! I’m already anxious about this and I don’t need you screaming at me and making it worse!”

Eren simply walked away after that, heading towards Armin and Erwin, fully intent on standing in between them and using them as a shield as they headed towards the ticket booth. After that, Eren didn’t really have a plan on what he was going to do to keep himself from losing his mind, but hopefully it wouldn’t involve vomiting or the need to urinate.

“Ooh . . .” Hange murmured after Eren walked away. “Looks like you’ve really done it now, Levi. And why are you getting back into your car??”

“To move it away.”

Hange sighed, shaking their head as they patiently waited for Levi to move his vehicle five feet away from Eren’s puddle of vomit.

“OCD Levi strikes again!”

Levi ignored the comment and continued to move his car until he was finally satisfied. Whatever. He wasn’t going to apologize for being offended at where Eren _chose_ to vomit. It was disgusting, and it made him anxious to have Eren’s stomach discharge so close to his tires! Yes, he was aware that Eren was upset, but this was unacceptable. If anything, _Eren_ should have apologized to _him_ for not properly walking away and finding a trashcan to vomit in!

And now Hange was hassling him for it!

“You’d better apologize.”

“Why?”

“Because Levi! That was mean! You’re allowed to be disgusted, but Eren's really nervous about this and couldn’t help it! If he had the option, I’m sure he wouldn’t have thrown up right there!”

“He _had_ a choice. With a little bit of effort, he could have found a trashcan.”

Hange sighed at Levi’s emotionless tone. “You can’t be that arrogant, Levi. You’ve been dating Eren for this long and you’re _still_ behaving like this? I’ll apologize to Eren for you if you can’t, but I don’t want to be doing this forever ya know.”

Having to rely on Hange to help him apologize ended up forcing Levi to remember his promise from some time ago. The promise he’d made to try harder to make Eren happier. Originally, he’d only considered the idea of making Eren happier with non-material items (since material things could only get him so far) but he supposed that Eren’s happiness also came from him not being an ass and actually _trying_ to apologize when things went wrong.

“Fine. I’ll apologize. Just stay out of my way.”

Hange smiled, knowing Levi’s words weren’t spoken from a place of irritation at them. “Okay. Good luck!”

Levi looked like he wanted to cut their head off and he wouldn’t stop glaring at them as they bought the tickets, but Hange took no offense to it and walked, probably too close to him just to annoy him a little more, by his side as they began their search for Erwin, Armin, and Eren. It wasn’t hard to locate the three at the edge of the park, with Erwin behind Eren pushing and Armin in front pulling.

Like a true stone wall, Eren remained rooted in his position, staring with wide eyes at the group of people gathering in front of the trail. Only ten minutes remained until the walk began, and if they didn’t go now, they would have to wait another forty minutes for the next one to begin.

“Come on, Eren!” Armin cried, using all of his weight as he leaned backwards with Eren’s hands grasped firmly in his own. “It’ll be fine! I thought you wanted to do this??”

“Face your fears,” Erwin said, also exerting a noteworthy amount of force to induce movement in Eren’s still form. Their efforts were useless though – it was as if Eren had died and rigor mortis had set in, rendering him a stiff, immovable mass of bones and joints.

“I can’t do it . . .” Eren mumbled like a zombie. “I . . . I can’t do it, guys. I really can’t . . .”

“Yes, you can,” Levi said, approaching the three and definitely not trying to act like a knight in shining armor. Eren panicked when he felt Armin and Erwin leave him and Levi took their place, but then he remembered Levi yelling at him and he instantly soured.

“Ew. What do you want?”

Before Levi said anything, he looked over his shoulder, threateningly staring at Erwin, Armin, and Hange until they got the hint and walked away. Now that they were alone, he turned back to Eren and took a deep breath. He could do this – he’d done it before.

“Sorry.”

“For?”

“Being goofy about you vomiting beside my car.”

Eren laughed at Levi’s description of himself, thinking it very fitting to describe Levi’s previous demeanor after he’d vomited (accidentally of course!) subsequent to him throwing the car door open.

“Okay, I get it. We’re cool,” Eren said lightly. “Ready to go?”

“Uh, not yet,” Levi mumbled, and looked over his shoulder again to make sure no one was watching. He glanced over Eren’s shoulder as well, just to confirm they were alone one last time.

Good – the coast was clear.

“Uh . . . have I earned back the right to hold your hand during the walk?”

“AWWW GRUMPY, YOU’RE SO SWEET!” Hange screamed from behind him.

Eren knew Levi’s world was ending when he saw him grow paler than usual, and he had to exercise so much restraint to keep from laughing in Levi’s face as Hange zoomed away giggling maniacally, probably committing this very moment to memory.

“You never lost the right,” Eren chuckled, smoothly grabbing Levi’s hand. “Don’t look at me like that. Hanji won’t tell anyone about how adorable you are.”

“This is what happens when I try to be nice,” Levi grumbled, leading the way over to the group. His cheeks felt warm which meant he was blushing, and while he wanted to run away and hide until the warmth receded, the urge to keep Eren’s hand grasped tightly in his own trumped any desire to part with the brunette, even for a moment.

“I like nice guys, though . . .”

“Oh? What are nice guys like?”

“Figure it out,” Eren said, still feeling spiteful over the car conversation. He forgave Levi for yelling at him for throwing up, but as far as everything he said before that, Levi still had some apologizing to do.

Levi sighed. “Alright, I get it. Serves me right I suppose.”

Eren left Levi to think about how to be nice and finally took the time to really examine the area. He cursed himself for not doing so earlier, because mapping out one’s surroundings was extremely important, especially in situations like _this._ With his leggings on and tennis shoes tied three times to ensure they wouldn’t come undone, Eren planned on doing some major running. Looks like those four years of track he took in high school were finally about to pay off! The terrain was relatively flat, save for a couple of hills that the most hideous monsters were probably hiding behind, getting ready to scare him. The owners of the trail attempted to liven things up by providing concession stands that sold caramel popcorn, cotton candy, and hot chocolate, which Eren _lived_ for, but he’d be damned if he ate or drank anything for obvious reasons. Large-bulb string lights, the kind strung along patios to give the area a homey feel, were hung up between poles to light the area, however it was just dark enough to make running away difficult.

All in all, the food, the cute lights, the lack of anything scary (since all the monsters were already in position on the trail) didn’t make Eren feel better, because he’d read the sign as Levi drove over the noisy gravel to find a parking spot.

It was misspelled and halfway broken to provide those creepy vibes that made Eren’s stomach turn: **EnTEr aT uR OWn RisKK: For AgES 18 & uP. We R noT reSpONSble foR aNy dEtHS by FRigHt!! **

At first, Eren wasn’t too sure if this haunted trail walk was truly only for people over eighteen, since that seemed like a bad business move to him. However, Armin informed him that it was true because the tamer trail walks that were designed for all ages took place at and right before sunset. Once dusk set in, the age requirement was bumped up to eighteen. He couldn’t believe it either. He was _barely_ above the age limit! Had this been the Halloween two years ago he wouldn’t have qualified! Truthfully, he _still_ didn’t think he qualified! They were standing at the very back of the group, away from the entrance, and Eren was squeezing Levi’s hand so hard he could have been in labor. Armin and Erwin were completely out of sight, probably at the front of the group and ready to take on the horrors that were sure to appear before them, and Hanji was also nowhere to be found. Great, just _great!_

“Welcome to the haunted trail walk!”

The announcement made by the haggard, hunched over, sickly, old homeless-looking man standing atop a hay bail caused Eren to freeze. Oh no. They weren’t even on the trail yet and already his heart was beginning to race inside of him! He felt sick . . .

“These woods were passed down to me by my great, great, great grandfather! For hundreds of years these woods have been home to members of the occult, who used the area to summon demons that wreak havoc upon the living! Everything is tainted – the soil, the trees, the rocks, the vegetation! All has been cursed with the most sinister evil, and I caution you all not to invite nor entertain the souls of the damned! My warning to you is this: because demons are constantly looking for a human host to latch onto, you must remain vigilant during your journey! Trust no one . . . be wary even of those closest to you . . . Welp, good luck! Please make your way through the entrance! And for the love of all things good and holy, do not deviate from the trail!”

“What the _fuck_ . . .” Eren muttered, looking at Levi with wide eyes and hoping to garner sympathy. “Did you hear all that??”

“It was a bunch of bullshit,” Levi told him. “These woods aren’t cursed, the occult never came here and performed rituals, and demons don’t exist.”

“What are you talking about?? Demons don’t exist?! Yes, they do!”

“No, they don’t Eren.”

“Yes, they do! If God exists, then so do demons!”

Interest piqued, Levi turned back to Eren. “God? You think God exists?”

Eren’s mouth dropped open. “Yeah, you don’t?”

“No.”

“What?? You’re not religious?!”

“No.”

“Oh . . .” Eren mumbled, unsure as of what to say next. This was kind of awkward. Eren wasn’t super religious or anything, but he believed in God. And if God existed, then surely angels existed. And if angels existed, then _demons_ existed since demons were fallen angels . . .

“I don’t care if you’re religious,” Levi said, squeezing Eren’s hand. “Do you care that I’m an atheist?”

Eren looked and felt completely crestfallen even though he wasn’t sure why. “Well, it’s not a deal breaker, I guess . . . Where do you think we go when we die?”

Levi sighed. “We’ll save this conversation for another time. We need to go, or we’ll get left behind.”

“You already did,” the old man said, walking over to them completely normally and now smoking a cigarette. “We usually send people in as a group since they all end up getting separated in the darkness anyways, but now you two are going to get to enjoy the _whole_ walk by yourselves!”

Immediately reminded of his fear, Eren went rigid once again, trying to force his trembling voice to form words. “U-um . . . h-how scary is it exactly . . .?”

“For thirty-five dollars a ticket it better be brutal,” Levi huffed, and the old man nodded convincingly.

“Of _course_ it’s brutal. There’s an age limit after all . . . and before you chicken out, no, we don’t offer refunds.”

“Then let’s go, Eren,” Levi ordered, and began dragging Eren over to the entrance.

“O-oh God, oh God . . .” Eren chanted quietly to himself, and he swore he could feel the temperature drop twenty degrees when they finally stepped onto the trail. They were now shrouded almost completely in darkness, and Eren could just barely make out the path from the short, wooden posts marking the trail. His hand was soaking wet with sweat and it was practically a miracle Levi could even hold onto it as they walked, _very slowly,_ along the path.

“I can’t see . . .” Eren whispered.

“That’s the point.”

“I kno – WHAT WAS THAT?!”

“You probably just stepped on a twig.”

“I didn’t step on anything!!”

“Then I guess _I_ stepped on a twig.”

“Someone’s here! I can’t breathe! What day is it?! I have a paper due Wednesday!! Oh shit, I forgot the start the load of laundry before we left!!”

Levi was aware Eren was talking so much to make himself feel better, but there was seriously nothing here. Because they’d gotten a late start, they weren’t the focus of the actors, so not only did he waste seventy dollars, but Eren was getting all hysterical over nothing. If his right hand wasn’t completely numb, this could _actually_ be a pretty pleasant walk even though Levi wasn’t really a nature kind of guy. Hmm . . . maybe he could take walks outside with Eren more often. After all, Eren seemed like the type to enjoy stuff like this, under different conditions of course.

“Calm down,” Levi finally said, though he was confident in the fact that his words would be useless to Eren.

“I-I-I a-am c-calm . . .”

“It’ll be over soon. I bet –

Everything suddenly all happened at once. A chainsaw ripped through the air directly behind him, Eren screamed (louder than the chainsaw), and then he let go of his hand and took off, disappearing into the woods. Levi didn’t even have time to shout Eren’s name before both he and the chainsaw wielding assailant were gone.

Meanwhile Eren was running as fast as he could, the adrenaline pumping through his veins and making him feel invincible. He felt like he could even see in the dark as he ran, expertly jumping over fallen tree trunks and large holes in the ground like some sort of unicorn. It was clear as to why they weren’t supposed to deviate from the path, because for an amateur, this was the perfect place to break an ankle or have an eye poked out by a tree limb.

But Eren?

He was indestructible.

 _Nothing_ could hurt him!

In fact, the chainsaw man was long gone and even though Eren may have been deep in the woods, who cares? Not him! When he was good and ready, he could just run, no, probably _fly_ out of the woods any time he wanted! His track coach would have been so proud because he hadn’t slowed yet, still running swiftly through the trees as if he was born and raised here. He’d like to see one of those monsters chase after him at these incredible speeds! Michael Myers?! More like Michael’s _Tired_ because Eren was soaring through these trees and _no one_ could catch him!

Ohhhh, but then the runner’s high wore off.

And _now_ he was in the middle of the woods, in the pitch black, so far out that he could hear nothing but the tree frogs and his own heart thrumming loudly in his ears. This was bad . . . _really_ bad, and while he wasn’t afraid of the dark, this wasn’t just any type of dark. This was the darkness provided by a wooded area currently home to his worst nightmare: people dressed up as monsters from all the scary movies he’d never taken the opportunity to watch but had heard about from all of his friends. Maybe he should have considered taking Levi’s advice and watched some horror movies in preparation for this night, but wouldn’t that have made him more nervous??

Because he _certainly_ was getting nervous right now, and taking a seat, he leaned against a tree and pulled his knees up to his chest, wondering if Levi was looking for him.

Oh . . . Levi . . .

Now Eren was visibly upset, although no one could see it since he was all alone and it was dark. Where was Levi? Why hadn’t he chased after him!? Levi knew he had anxiety about these things?!?! How could he just let him run away?!! He may have been over thirty, but he didn’t even _try_ to run after him! He hadn’t even called his name! He just let go of his hand and probably waved him goodbye as he fled for his life! What about protecting him!!? What happened to that promise?! Ugh, Levi was such a liar!!

Eren _really_ missed him though, and as the sound of rustling leaves came from behind him he nearly shit himself, turning around with wild, wide eyes struggling to see in the dark. Someone was definitely walking, no, _shuffling_ towards him, carrying some sort of weapon in their right hand. It was a knife. They were coming to kill him!!!

Eren was instantly screaming. “NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! FUCK OFF!!!”

Before he was able to stand up and start running again, the perpetrator was already in his space, preventing him from moving. At this point if Eren tried to stand up and run, he’d be even closer to them, so he simply backed up against the tree and begged for his life.

“Please don’t hurt me! I’m only nineteen! I haven’t seen Paris! And I have a paper due Wednesday!!!”

What Eren thought was a knife ended up being a flashlight, because he was suddenly blinded by the light, and he shut his eyes in pain, watching the spots of color dance around inside of his eyelids for a few moments before deciding to open them again. Though his eyes were shut, he could hear the leaves crackle as the monster leaned down in front of him, probably intending to get as close as possible so that he could murder him swiftly!

“Did you get lost? You’re not supposed to leave the trail.”

Oh . . . this guy sounded nice, so Eren opened his eyes to answer. “MICHAEL?!?!?! AHHHH GET AWAY FROM ME!!!?!? LEVI!!! JESUS!!! SOMEBODY HELP ME!! SOME –

“Hey, hey, hey!!! Calm down!!”

Eren kept screaming hysterically until Michael slapped him across the face, stunning him into silence for the time being.

“It’s okay! I heard you walking around and I decided to follow you and check on you!” Michael said, raising both hands up beside his head, palms outward as he tried to appear harmless. “I’m not going to hurt you. I don’t even have any weapons on me.”

“. . .”

“Are you alright?”

“. . .”

“Are you going into shock?”

“ . . .”

Eventually Michael moved about six feet away from him, taking a seat on the ground and relaxing his posture. “Are you afraid of me? Because I promise I’m not scary. In the movies I know I can come across as violent and creepy, but I’m not always a bad guy. Especially not tonight.”

“ . . .”

“In the end, I’m not even real. I’m only real because people believe in me.”

“. . . You’re only real because people believe in you?”

Michael nodded. “That’s right. Many of us tend to create our own fears. Now, some fears are biological, like the fear of heights or the fear of snakes. But many people fear irrational things, myself being one of them.”

Eren drew his knees closer to his body. “But you _are_ scary . . . How is it irrational to fear you . . .?”

“What’s so scary about me?”

“Well . . . your face is scary. It’s all white and emotionless. Not being able to tell what someone’s intentions are really freaks me out . . .”

“Hmm . . . You know, I like to watch people from the hillside as they enter the area, because I enjoy studying what types of behavior people exhibit before they walk the trail. I’ve found that I can learn a lot about people from the other people they’re with.”

“Really?”

“Sure,” Michael said. “And do you know who else’s face is white and emotionless? Your boyfriend’s. So, I can’t be all that bad, right? He and I are practically one in the same.”

Eren laughed and much to his disbelief, even relaxed a little. “Okay, you got me there. Does that tell you something about me?”

“It tells me that you have a good heart. You’re probably very warm and receptive, open to trying new things, even if those things are scary. I can probably imagine it wasn’t your idea to come here.”

“No, it wasn’t. But . . . a friend of my boyfriend’s came to me and wanted my help in getting my friend back . . . eh, it’s a long story.”

“You wanted to help them, right?”

“Yeah, I did.”

“Even though you knew it would be uncomfortable?”

“Yup.”

“We as humans have an amazing ability to adapt, you know. We’re designed to do things that make us uncomfortable. Besides, only by doing uncomfortable things do we grow. I think you’ve already acknowledged this though.”

Eren nodded. “Mmhmm. I think you’re right, Michael.”

“See?” Michael asked. “Even now you’ve shown me that you have the ability to live through your discomfort in order to reach a better outcome. You’re not even scared anymore, are you?”

“Not really . . . not at all, actually.”

“Think about what would have happened if I’d have removed my mask? You would have never conquered your fear, huh?”

“You’re right about that too, Michael . . . are you a professional or something?”

Michael chuckled. “Something like that. How about we head back for now? I can imagine everyone has finished the walk by now.”

Eren nodded and stood up, happily approaching Michael’s side to walk closely with him as they made their way out of the woods, using the flashlight to light their way.

“In the end, Michael Myers isn’t real, and I’m just a guy,” the man said casually. “Nowadays it’d be pretty illogical to dress up like this and go around killing people.”

“That’s true,” Eren agreed. “If your goal was to kill people, you’d probably do it much more discreetly. But even though I know you’re not real, how do I know if I’m ready to watch the movies? I’ve never seen them, and I’m still afraid . . .”

“I think you need a better understanding of the concept of fear and getting scared. It’s fine to get scared during a scary movie. In fact, the director _wants_ to scare you and purposefully makes the movie suspenseful with loud crashes and bangs to make you jump. However, irrational, pervasive thoughts about a movie character that isn’t real are much more sinister. Fears like these can develop into phobias and anxiety, which isn’t fun for anyone.”

“Tell me about it . . .”

“My advice is to give _Halloween_ a try,” Michael said, patting Eren on the head. “A racing heartbeat before the movie starts, nervous sweating, and just a little bit of anxiety are completely normal. Hell, even I get scared from watching horror movies that I’ve seen a dozen times!”

“Really??”

“Really. I think you’ll surprise yourself at just how brave you really are.”

 _Wow!_ Eren thought, not ever wanting to leave Michael’s side as they entered the lit area filled with new customers ready to take the walk. He couldn't believe it: Michael was actually REALLY fucking cool!

“Eren!!” Hanji screamed, running over to him and wrapping him in a bear hug. “Thank goodness you’re safe! Grumpy said he lost you and I just _knew_ he couldn’t be trusted! Leave it up to Levi to lose an entire person!”

“Well, to be fair I kind of ran away,” Eren chuckled, smiling when Levi also approached them with his typical, stone-faced demeanor. “Sorry for bailing, Levi. But I met Michael Myers in the woods and he was really nice to me! I’m not afraid anymore!”

Levi immediately stepped up the masked man with narrowed eyes. “Remove your mask at once.”

“Sure,” the guy said, taking off the mask and smiling. “My name’s Moblit. I’m a psychiatrist and I run my own practice. I volunteer here when I can since my Uncle owns this land, and as a doctor, I love being around people.”

“Ooh! A psychiatrist??” Hange asked excitedly. “That’s really interesting! I almost majored in psychology myself, though in the end, I went for human resources since I liked the idea of management.”

“Really? What a coincidence! One of my best friends words in human resources.”

“Is that so?”

“Awe, Hanji made a friend!” Eren said happily, informing Levi as if he wasn’t standing right there. “What a great ending to a great night! I conquered my fear and met someone pretty damn cool! Where did Armin and Erwin get off to?”

Levi was practically simmering with rage on the inside, because all he heard from that stupid monologue about Moblit being a psychiatrist was, “Eren is in love with me now. Wanna fight over him?” And the answer was YES. Levi _did_ want to fight. Even though Eren was standing right next to him displaying loyalty, Levi wanted to bash Moblit’s face in. How _dare_ he rescue Eren like he was some damsel in distress?! That was _his_ job, and he would have made good on his mission had Hange not been holding him back from searching the woods. They defended their choice by claiming that he’d get lost too and of course the notion was absolutely ridiculous!! Him? Get lost?? As _if_ Levi would ever fall victim to something as stupid as getting lost! He was above such errors! He’d grown up in the streets, navigating his way through identical alleyways and roads using the most insignificant landmarks like a lopsided blade of grass to remember where he’d been! He was a certified genius when it came to voyaging through territory, and for this jackass Michael Myers wannabe to take his place was just –

“Well, I think Levi has shut down for the night,” Eren announced, grabbing Levi’s hand in preparation of dragging him away. “I think we’ll take our leave. Hanji, we’ll be waiting for you in the car.”

“Oh, I can offer you a ride if you need one,” Moblit said. “I’ve got a few more shows to do here, but I can take off whenever I want to.”

“Shows?” Levi laughed cruelly as Eren dragged him away. “You think you’re a celebrity? You’re just a bastard in a costume – anyone can do what you do. And you run a practice? I’ve established and currently operate one of the most successful breweries in the country. You won’t find the expertise and skill offered by myself just anywhere. I’ve turned three-hundred dollars into three-hundred million dollars overnight. You have to understand the market and how it influences people’s choices in order to do that. My sales are up 259% since April of this year.”

“SHUT!!! UP!!!!!” Eren screamed. “Seriously Levi, no one cares!!!”

“You’ll have to excuse Levi,” Hange said in between laughs. “What you just saw is the reason he’s not allowed to negotiate with new potential clients.”

Moblit also laughed fondly at the two that were now so far away that he couldn’t hear them anymore, even though it was clear that Levi was still talking. “They suit each other.”

Hange nodded. “They’re soulmates. I worked hard to get them together – in fact, I work hard to _keep_ them together – but I know they’re meant to be.”

“You’re a great friend.”

“Hehe, I try.”

“Well, what do you say we get out of here?” Moblit asked. “And If you don’t have anything planned for tomorrow, I’d like to see you again.”

“Sure. I’d like to see you again too. If you’d like, you’re welcome to see me all throughout the night.”

“Y-you move quickly, Hange . . .”

Hange smiled deviously. “Think so?”

“As a psychiatrist, I definitely recommend couples move much more slowly.”

“How slowly?”

Moblit pretended to check the invisible watch on his wrist. “Hmm . . . actually, it seems like enough time has passed.”

“Ha! Perfect! Then please, lead the way!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you haven't seen the movie, Halloween, you're probably so confused and I'm sorry xD


	33. Extra 7: Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Better late than never! 
> 
> (Please forgive any spelling errors!)

“It’s too early to put up a tree, brat.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Yes, it is.”

 _“No,_ it’s not. The tree goes up immediately after Thanksgiving, Levi. Those are the rules. Are you going to tell me I don’t know what I’m talking about? I’ve been doing Christmas all my life!”

Sure, Levi _knew_ he wasn’t getting out of putting up a Christmas tree once Eren came into his life, but he didn’t think it was going up _this_ early. All he could think about were the copious amounts of shedding it would do and how often he would have to clean it all up. Honestly, why did they even need a tree? He was perfectly content with seeing a decorated Christmas tree one time at Eren’s parents’ house. If only Eren felt the same way . . .

“And we have to decorate a little,” Eren continued. “I won’t take over your apartment or anything, but without some color it doesn’t feel like Christmas.”

Levi hesitated, trying to figure out how to explain, without offending Eren’s sensibilities in the process, that he’d be fine with partaking in a _small_ amount of decorating. He already knew that ‘a little’ decorating meant completely different things to the both of them, but arguing about it would just hurt Eren’s feelings. For their first Christmas together, Levi didn’t want to do _anything_ to upset Eren. After all, he planned on proposing on Christmas Day.

Hange dared to tell him that it was weird to propose on his own birthday, yet he couldn’t figure out what exactly was so strange about it. On _his_ birthday he wanted Eren to grant him the gift of saying yes to his proposal. What was wrong with that? Perhaps it was his comment about how he wouldn’t take no for an answer, which may have come off as entitled, but it was _his_ birthday. Eren wasn’t allowed to tell him no on _his_ birthday. This was the perfect set-up and he wouldn’t be punished for using his birthday as extra reassurance that Eren would say yes! He wasn’t stupid – in fact, he was a certified genius for devising such a foolproof plan!

“Fine.”

“Really??” Eren asked, eyes widening as though he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. “You mean it?”

“Yeah. If you want to so badly –

“Okay great! Let’s go get a tree!” Before he could think of a reason to object, Eren slapped a Santa hat on his head and began pulling him towards the door. Having the hat worn by a fictional creature Eren probably believed in until he was sixteen years old on his head made his skin crawl. And that stupid little white puff ball on the end hanging over his eyes and _touching_ his forehead?

Pure agony.

Maybe he would feel better once they got finished decorating, but he seriously doubted it. Perhaps his anxiety stemmed from attempting something new that he had little experience with? After all, it was going to be hard to control everything if he was learning it for the first time . . .

Upsetting Eren was the last thing he wanted though, so he would have to push himself . . . _hard._

* * *

Eren decided to give Levi a break when it came to decorating, so he happily obliged Levi’s request to sit out while he busied himself with setting up the tree. He wouldn’t lie and say a part of him wasn’t disappointed with Levi not wanting to participate, but Eren also wanted this tree to be perfect, and that involved meticulous placement of the ornaments, lights, and branches. After many years of practicing with his mother and Mikasa, he _still_ wasn’t a master at this, but if he took his time, maybe he could get it just right –

“Move. I want to help.”

The brunette paused mid-ornament-placement, glancing over his shoulder at Levi in complete and utter shock. One minute he’d been sitting on the couch reading and the next minute he was by his side trying to help him put ornaments on the tree . . .

“Aww,” Eren cooed, handing Levi a bright red ornament. “Sure. Go ahead!”

Levi thrusted the ornament towards the tree and precariously sat it on a branch. He stood still for a moment admiring his work before picking up a box of identical ornaments so that he could continue.

“This is easy.”

“Uh, uh, uh –

“Why was this taking you so long?” Levi asked, shaking his head in dismay. “Should’ve asked me to help you sooner, brat.”

“B-but, I- you, um –

“Done.”

Eren gawked at the tree, now knowing for sure that Levi _definitely_ didn’t decorate his apartment on his own. All of the ornaments were clustered in the middle of the tree and half of them weren’t even hanging on the branches. Instead, they were sat randomly in between branches and on top of the lights, ready to fall from the slightest disturbance. The tree looked . . . hideous.

“Levi . . .” Eren said quietly.

“What?”

“It’s . . . it’s great . . .”

“I _know_ it’s great.”

“ . . .”

“Well, if you’re done staring at my masterpiece, let’s –

“Actually, no it’s not!! Levi, what the _fuck?!_ Why did you put all of the ornaments in the middle of the tree?! They’re supposed to go all over! And you didn’t hang them! YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO HANG THEM ON THE BRANCHES!”

Levi raised an eyebrow at Eren’s rage before shrugging. “Fine. I’ll fix it.”

“No! Just don’t touch it! _I’ll_ fix it.”

“I said _I_ will . . .”

“No!”

“Fuck off, brat! Let me do it!”

“NO!”

Amidst their arguing they jostled the tree and sent all of the ornaments to the floor, some of them shattering upon impact while others cracked. The sound was unbearable, and pieces of glass flew everywhere making the entire apartment a danger zone.

“What did you do . . .?”

Eren’s jaw dropped. “Me??”

Levi shrugged. “ _I_ didn’t do that.”

“This wouldn’t have happened if you didn’t make my Christmas tree look like _dogshit!”_

“Okay, too far. I was just trying to help.”

“You made things worse!”

“Oh yeah? Well now it’s about to get _really_ bad: clean this shit up.”

Levi was having fun at this point, pushing Eren’s buttons and making him think he was being serious. Obviously it wasn’t ideal to have glass all over the floor, but accidents happen . . . besides, Eren was the one pushing and shoving him to get away from the tree, so _he_ technically made the mess.

“Clean it up?? I have to go buy more ornaments!”

“No, let’s just get rid of the tree.”

“WHAT?!”

“We don’t need it,” Levi said. “In fact, Christmas is canceled.”

Eren screeched, fists balled so that he could properly punch Levi in the face, but to his surprise, Levi started _laughing._ He didn’t know what he was laughing at, (it better not be him) however the sound was foreign enough to make Eren stop what he was doing. Levi _never_ laughed. He’d chuckled before, but never outright laughed. It was kind of inspiring, and once Eren realized Levi was attempting to make light of the situation, his anger completely dissipated.

“Think this is funny?” Eren asked, crossing his arms as though he was still upset. “You _like_ trying to ruin my Christmas?”

“Yeah.”

“Grinch.”

“It’s _Dr._ Grinch.”

“How about Dr. _Gay?!”_

“That’s the best you could come up with, brat?” Levi asked, catching Eren when he jumped into his arms. “Thought I told you to clean this up?”

Eren kissed him, wrapping his arms around his neck to pull him as close as possible. One hand snaked into his hair, yanking and tugging in a ‘I want sex’ kind of way. At least, those were the vibes Levi was getting, and he kissed Eren back excitedly, shoving his tongue into his mouth. He tasted like candy canes and hot chocolate, two things that were apparently going to make up fifty percent of Eren’s diet during the month of December.

“Don’t step on the glass,” Eren giggled, moaning when Levi began kissing and sucking on his neck. “We should go to the bedroom.”

“Fine by me – _shit!”_

“Careful!” Eren cried. “Are you okay? Put me down so I can look at it!”

“No,” Levi grunted, holding Eren more tightly as he hurried into the bedroom. “I’m fine. Get naked.”

Eren shook his head, but smiled nonetheless. “Okay . . . but can you wear the Santa hat?”

“. . .”

“Please? I’ll sweep up the glass if you do.”

“. . .”

“And I’ll let you do me for the rest of the night.”

“All because you want me to wear that stupid hat?” Levi asked, standing up to leave and find the hat as requested. “Fine. It’s your ass, not mine.”

* * *

“So, another Christmas tradition is driving around in all of the rich neighborhoods and looking at people’s lights,” Eren explained. “Since you’re rich, I’m sure you know where all the good neighborhoods are.”

“What are you talking about?” Levi asked. “Drive around and see the lights? Is that something you seriously want to do?”

“Of course . . .” Eren said, this time more somberly. “It’s fun . . .”

Again, after a few moments of hesitation, Levi sighed heavily. “Alright . . .”

“Yay Levi!”

“But I don’t want to be out all night.”

“We won’t be,” Eren promised. “I’m just asking for an hour of your time. We don’t even have to spend _that_ long if you don’t want to.”

“Brat, I’ll spend all night with you looking at lights if you really want me to. I may act like I can deny you, but I can’t.”

Eren was quiet for a moment, pondering what his normally disagreeable boyfriend had just told him. It was flattering and embarrassing at the same time. Having this kind of power over Levi though . . . it might have been too much. Eren knew he was a brat that liked to have things go his way, but at the end of the day, Levi was a _proper_ adult and probably knew better than him.

“Don’t be afraid to tell me no,” Eren finally said. “After all, I’m not afraid to tell _you_ no, so I want you to extend the same courtesy to me.”

“You’re not afraid to tell me no?” Levi asked.

“No.”

“. . . Tch, I don’t want to see those stupid lights then.”

“W-why not?”

“I don’t know. I’m tired all of a sudden.”

“Aww, Levi! Are you serious? I can always go with Armin and Mikasa, but it’s much more fun with a boyfriend!”

“A boyfriend?”

“Yes? You’re my boyfriend, aren’t you?”

Eren didn’t know what he did wrong, but Levi stared at him as though he’d told him they were breaking up before stomping away and slamming the bedroom door shut. He was left to stand in the living room in shock and contemplate whether or not he should bother Levi. Leaving Levi alone after he walked away from him and entered a room to be by himself _always_ worked to remedy the situation. If he was patient enough, Levi would eventually come back out and everything would be normal again.

This time though, Eren decided that he was going to be annoying. Although, after everything that he’d been _forcing_ Levi to do over the past couple of weeks, Eren wasn’t surprised that the older man had finally had enough. He was probably exhausted both mentally and physically, which was why after tonight, Eren _would_ give him some time alone to recover.

Something was still a little strange though. Levi had been quite complicit up until this point. He bickered with him about everything, but it wasn’t meant to be taken seriously. In fact, he’d been cracking quite a few jokes as of late, which was also strange, though not unwelcome . . .

“Levi?” Eren asked, knocking on the door. “Are you sure you don’t want to go?”

The door opened quickly. “Yeah. I’ll go.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah.”

 _“Seriously_ . . .?”

“Don’t make me change my mind.”

“Okay! Let’s go then!”

Yes, Levi’s behavior was _definitely_ strange. Normally Levi would have blamed not wanting to go on him and not spoken to him for the rest of the night. Instead, he’d sucked up his pride and changed his mind. Perhaps he was just being nice because it was December, but either way, Eren liked it . . .

Maybe.

Actually, he wasn’t sure how he felt about it. Months ago, he would have complained that Levi fought with him so much (and over the most trivial things), but now that Levi wasn’t arguing with him anymore, it felt a little awkward. It was like his _real_ boyfriend had been replaced by an imposter. And no, Eren didn’t _like_ arguing with Levi by any means. However, arguing could be kind of nice because once they’d resolved their differences, Eren felt closer to him than ever. Without the usual spat, there was nothing to resolve . . . was he feeling bored? No, that couldn’t be it.

Ugh, why was he complaining about it anyways?? He better enjoy it because it surely wouldn’t last!

A buzz in his pocket disrupted him from his thoughts and Eren checked his phone, lagging behind Levi as they exited the apartment together.

 **Armin:** _Christmas parade downtown tonight. Thought you might be interested in going with Levi – Mikasa and I will be there if you wanna meet up_

 **Eren:** _WHAT. How did I not know?!_

 **Armin:** _Idk. I figured youd text back and tell me u were already there lol Eren: Imma ask him. He’ll probably say no, so dont expect to see us there lol_

Once they were in the car and driving (and Levi was no longer shivering from the cold) Eren broke the ice, very casually asking Levi if he’d be down to watch the Christmas parade. Eren was floored by the answer he received, and this time instead of getting excited about it, he just sat there confused. Levi noticed his confusion and asked if he was okay, and Eren provided him with a robotic nod as a response. He could have bet his beating heart that Levi would have shot down the idea of seeing a Christmas parade, especially considering the fact that he had to go to work tomorrow. Eren wouldn’t have minded at all if Levi wanted to get home early so that he could go to bed at a reasonable time.

He might have been going crazy, but the more Eren thought about it, the more he wanted Levi to have told him no. It was beginning to dawn on him that Levi was pushing himself just to please him, which was very benevolent of him, but not necessary. Eren was used to Levi’s selfishness, and overlooking his behavior had become easy for him. It had become _normal._ The way Levi was acting now _wasn’t_ normal at all! It sounded awful to Eren, but this wasn’t the same person he’d fallen in love with . . . and he _never_ envisioned himself dating someone so narcissistic, arrogant and self-absorbed, but _that’s_ who he ended up falling for. He fell for a man that _needed_ him to remind him to humble himself when he acted too pretentious.

Did this mean he wasn’t needed anymore? What if Levi dropped the rude, closed-off demeanor and people started to realize how charming he could be? What if people started to approach Levi?? People more attractive and classier than himself?! Eren used to consider Petra an intense competitor that he had to work hard to overcome, but now he wasn’t so sure his experience with her counted for much. If someone _really_ wanted to steal Levi away from him, and if Hange wasn’t there to back him up and help him, could they??

“Eren.”

Upon hearing his name, Eren sat up straight and tried to look as though he wasn’t just in deep thought over how _nice_ Levi was being to him. Being bothered by something _this_ stupid made him feel like an idiot . . .

“Yeah?”

“Lights.”

“Oh . . .”

Eren realized he’d been sitting there staring at the floorboard of the car overthinking his relationship when he _should_ have been enjoying this time with his significant other. Instead of submerging himself yet again in his uncalled for imagination, Eren decided to shove all doubts to the back of his mind so that he could properly annoy Levi by ‘oohing’ and ‘ahhing’ over the lights.

“Aren’t they pretty?” Eren asked, dreamily staring out of the window at large reindeer, snowmen and Santa Claus yard décor. The decorations shone brightly with that familiar LED illumination that belonged to Christmas, and it filled Eren with a certain kind of happiness that only came once a year.

“Rich people sure do love to decorate. How do they find the time?”

Levi chuckled at Eren’s blatant description of rich people. “They _make_ time. We all make time to do things we enjoy.”

“That’s true.”

“And people of all income brackets decorate, brat. Not just rich people do it.”

“Oh, I know,” Eren said. “But rich people always have the nicest looking houses and decorations.”

“Think so?”

“Sure. But Christmas isn’t about who has the nicest house. It’s about being kind and generous and spending time with loved ones.”

Instead of responding to Eren’s words of wisdom, Levi cranked up the heat, wishing now more than ever that he lived closer to the south. Usually during the wintertime, he only left his apartment to go to work and he _never_ left so late at night because that’s when it got the coldest.

Yet, here he was.

“Does the Christmas parade involve leaving the car?” Levi asked, placing his hands at the ten and two o’clock position on his steering wheel, taking advantage of the hot air shooting out of the vents.

“Of course,” Eren giggled. “Cold?”

“Obviously.”

“Wanna skip the parade and go home then?”

“Not a chance in hell.”

Eren pursed his lips. “Why not?”

“Because Christmas is about being kind and generous and spending time with loved ones.”

“Ew.”

“Ew?” Levi asked. “Didn’t you just say the same thing?”

Eren didn’t respond, choosing to cross his arms and pout instead. He looked upset, and Levi’s immediate reaction was to get angry at Eren for getting upset for absolutely _no_ reason whatsoever, but he remembered what he was supposed to be doing on the twenty-fifth, so _he_ apologized. Then Eren rolled his eyes at the apology and Levi had the nerve to crash his car into the nearest telephone pole and kill them both, but again, he relaxed. The reason why Eren was upset didn’t matter. As long as Levi could honestly say that he tried his best to make/keep Eren happy up to the day he proposed, he wouldn’t beat himself up for his actions.

“I’m sorry,” Eren mumbled suddenly. “I’m in a weird mood for no good reason.”

“It’s okay, brat. Just sit back, shut up, and enjoy the lights.”

Eren nodded happily, doing just that.

* * *

“I’m _shocked,”_ Eren said, slowly and deliberately as Levi pulled him over to the kitchen table. “This _can’t_ be happening . . .”

“What’s so shocking?” Levi grunted, pulling out a chair for Eren and forcing him down into it. Once seated he pushed him up close to the table. Then, he slid a box towards Eren that contained a gingerbread house and all of the essentials needed to decorate it. “Here. Make it.”

Eren stared at the gingerbread house kit intensely, glancing up at Levi to make sure the older man wasn’t ill. Levi going out of his way to buy a gingerbread house for the purpose of building it was just . . . unheard of. The more he thought about it, the more Eren feared he wouldn’t be able to get over his shock. Of course, he’d made gingerbread houses before, but he decided after the Christmas parade debacle (during which Levi looked visibly uncomfortable) to leave Levi alone until it was time to visit his family on the twenty-fourth. That was still a week away . . .

Levi didn’t _have_ to do this . . . he was allowed to relax and free himself of the festivities so that he could properly rest and prepare for all of the social interaction that was soon to come.

“Really?” Eren asked, suspiciously. “You want me to make it? Are you sure? It’s kind of messy.”

“Build. The fucking. House.”

“Yes sir.”

Eren could see Levi shrug and retreat slightly, probably worried that he’d been too harsh with him, but Eren smiled and reached over to ruffle his hair. “Want to help me build it?”

“Not really.”

“Why not?”

“Because I bought it for you.”

The brunette shrugged and began opening the kit, expertly laying out all of the pieces in an orderly fashion so that they could properly be assembled. Levi watched him, interested in the process, but still not wanting to participate. Truthfully, he didn’t have patience for stuff like this, and he had a feeling it’d annoy him to no end if the pieces didn’t stick together. What was supposed to be a fun, family-friendly activity would turn into a competition that he wasn’t interested in subjecting himself to, especially when he and Eren hadn’t really been speaking to each other for the past few days.

He wasn’t sure where he was going wrong, but Eren acted as though he was bored of him. Somehow, Levi was getting the sense that Eren didn’t like it when he tried too hard to please him. Perhaps Eren could see through his act and felt as though the kindness he was giving him wasn’t genuine?

It _was_ genuine though – if Levi _really_ didn’t want to do something, then he wouldn’t. However, he _wanted_ to do these things with Eren. Even if he had to initially force himself to do it, after the fact, he realized that it wasn’t so bad. Forcing himself to partake in activities he never imagined himself doing allowed him to learn new things about Eren in the process. It was a win-win type of situation for him. Thus, it was hard to know that Eren didn’t really appreciate it. Eren probably thought it was weird of him to try so hard . . . maybe he expected him to be a grinch during Christmas? And if Eren expected that of him, a proposal was probably the furthest thing from his mind . . .

Levi didn’t know what to do. In the beginning he was being extra nice in order to ensure Eren said yes, but even _he_ wasn’t immune to the Christmas spirit. He was having _fun_ spending this time with Eren, even if Eren wasn’t having much fun with him.

“Want to take over for me for a minute?” Eren asked. “I think I want to make some hot chocolate. Want some?”

Before Levi could answer, Eren got up and headed into the kitchen, leaving him with the completely built gingerbread house. Now all it needed was decorations, but after Eren yelled at him for his piss-poor job of decorating the tree, Levi wasn’t going anywhere near those gumdrops or glitter.

“Go on,” Eren urged him. “Decorate it. You can pipe some icing, can’t you?”

“I’ll just wait on you,” Levi said, turning to look at Eren. “It’s fine.”

Eren smiled. “I wonder if this is a precursor to how our future home is going to be decorated: me choosing all of the decorations and you sitting on the sidelines totally uninterested.”

“I’m not totally uninterested . . .”

“Then decorate the roof. C’mon, you can do it.”

Levi sighed, looking back at the gingerbread house. As soon as he lifted his arm to reach for some blue icing, the little house fell apart right before his eyes, violently imploding on itself as though he’d used tremendous force to break it. He looked back at Eren who had his back turned to him, and then back at the house, and then back at Eren, and then back at the house again, hoping that if he kept looking away and back, the house would magically rebuild itself.

“It broke,” Levi sourly announced, hearing a gasp followed by loud laughter behind him.

“It’s fine,” Eren told him, attempting to cheer him up by setting a mug of hot chocolate down in front of him. “It’s normal for them to fall down.”

“Tch, all I did was look at it.”

“Mikasa used to break our gingerbread house all the time,” Eren reminisced, laughing at the memories. “I used to get _so mad_ at her. I would cry for hours even though mom and dad would always fix it back for me. It just wasn’t the same, ya know?”

“You seem like the kind of brat that would refuse to eat your Pop-Tart if it broke in half before it touched your plate.”

“I was _absolutely_ that brat. Still am,” Eren chuckled. “You _know_ it doesn’t taste the same if it’s broken in half, right?”

Levi reached over and began trying to reassemble the gingerbread house while Eren occupied himself with his hot chocolate. “What does it taste like if it’s broken in half?”

“Pure despair, that’s what. That was why we needed a family dog . . .”

“You can’t give a Pop-Tart to a dog, Eren. Sugar and all of that other shit in processed food isn’t good for them.”

“Wow, Levi. I didn’t know you went to veterinary school.”

Levi raised an eyebrow at the sarcastic tone in Eren’s voice. “You can’t be serious, brat. You don’t have to be a vet to know that. Your sister was right about you not being able to own animals.”

Eren gasped, inhaling and momentarily choking on his hot chocolate. “Did she tell you that?! When do you two talk??”

“I try to talk to her at least once every other day.”

“Gossiping about me?”

“Sometimes.”

“Hey!”

“I’m sure you gossip about me to your shitty little friends all the time,” Levi said, finally accepting defeat once the gingerbread house fell apart on him for the third time.

“It’s never bad though,” Eren reassured him. “I always have nice things to say about you.”

“You’ve never said anything bad about me?” Levi chuckled. “Doubt that.”

“If I’ve said anything bad, I’ve complained about why you won’t propose,” Eren laughed, although he quickly grew serious. “I’m just kidding. I don’t expect you to propose for a long time. No pressure!”

“When is the right time?”

“I don’t know. Whenever you’re ready I guess.”

“Well, when will _you_ be ready?”

“Um –

“Because lately you’ve been acting like you can’t stand me.”

Eren’s eyes widened, and although he knew deep down that Levi had a point, the accusation still infuriated him. “Excuse me?? That’s not true! _You’ve_ been acting strange and I’ve had trouble adjusting to it!”

“Acting strange?” Levi grumbled. “You mean nicer than usual?”

“W-well, yeah, kind of! You don’t _have_ to be nice just because it’s Christmas! Just be yourself! I like you just the way you are, you know!”

“I _am_ being myself, Eren. What’s wrong with wanting to spend time with you doing Christmas . . . _things_ during December?”

Eren frowned. “If you want to, that’s fine. Just don’t force yourself. There’s nothing worse than when someone is _forcing_ themselves to do something with you that they don’t want to do.”

“I’m not forcing myself, brat! This is _fun_! We’re having FUN!”

“No, we’re not! We’re arguing!”

“Is this what you wanted?! For me to fight you the whole way through this month?!”

“It’s better than you looking _miserable_ while lying to me and saying you aren’t!”

“I’m not miserable! Sorry I don’t smile twenty-four seven! Why can’t you just do this for me, Eren? Am I _that_ undeserving of a nice Christmas?! I’ve never gotten to celebrate it with anyone and I’m new to this! Cut me some slack!”

“Okay, okay . . .” Eren murmured. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I . . . admit I was probably trying to pick a fight just then, but I won’t do it anymore.”

“Why are you trying to fight with me?? Are you afraid of me being nicer than usual? Am I _that_ different?”

“No . . .”

Levi looked as though he wanted to explode again, but then he sighed and let it go. “Then _stop_ being a brat and get off your period.”

Eren nodded obediently, feeling extremely guilty. “Okay.”

“. . . Are you going to build this stupid fucking house then, or not?”

“I mean, it doesn’t look like it wants to cooperate with either of us.”

“Should we eat it?”

“No,” Eren giggled. “It’s edible, but it doesn’t taste very good. We can make gingerbread cookies instead though? Wanna?”

Levi was grateful that Eren seemed to be completely fine once again, so he readily agreed, hoping this atmosphere could last until the twenty-fifth . . .

* * *

It turns out that Eren had _not_ been fine. They continued to remain awkward around each other all the way up until his birthday, something that Eren only mentioned in passing. Fortunately, they were able to retain an air of normalcy around Eren’s family on the twenty-fourth, so Levi was able to enjoy that time without the stress of knowing Eren was upset with him. Last night before bed had been a nightmare though. They both exploded, Levi ended up getting kicked out of his own room, and he _still_ couldn’t figure out why this was happening. Everything was going so _wrong_ , almost as if he’d been cursed! Eren would seem to be normal for one minute, however he never failed to enter this trance-like state in which his eyes would grow wide as though he was remembering something awful that happened to him. And that, he’d be moody and evasive for the rest of the day.

Levi wasn’t sure what to do. Honestly, he couldn’t even remember how they resolved their former arguments. Eren just always forgave him and they moved on. There was nothing to forgive this time though! He hadn’t done anything wrong except be kind, and if Eren had a problem with _that_ , this relationship wasn’t going to work! Levi didn’t exactly _love_ to look and feel stressed out all the time, ready to snap at the slightest inconvenience. That attitude was a part of his personality and it had been his normal for a long time, but that didn’t mean he liked it. And _just_ as he was beginning to lighten up and realize that it was okay to take a deep breath and enjoy life, Eren decided to punish him for it.

It was too bad something like this couldn’t happen _after_ Eren said yes to his proposal. Then he wouldn’t have to be stressed out over this _and_ what was going to be the biggest and most important moment of his life . . .

Actually, maybe he just shouldn’t go through with it. Putting himself in Eren’s shoes wasn’t easy (because he really didn’t understand Eren sometimes), but if _he_ were Eren, he’d probably say no. Plus, Levi’s original trump card, his _glorious_ birthday in which he was brought into this world to enact change and provide direction to all those who worked for him, Eren didn’t give two shits about. Common sense said don’t propose, and since Levi was _all_ about common sense, he decided not to . . . it wasn’t as if Eren deserved it anyways.

That’s right – that brat had been ignoring him, avoiding eye contact, and treating him as though he had some incurable, debilitating disease for the last three weeks! He wasn’t interested in being tied down to someone like that! Besides, Eren would probably respond by saying, “ew, Levi, you want to _marry_ me? That’s _way_ too nice,” when _two months ago_ Eren said he _liked_ nice guys! This young people logic wasn’t logical at all! Either Eren was lying about what he said two months ago, or he was lying now! Or maybe he was just confused – perhaps he’d forgotten what he said?? Or maybe Levi _had_ slipped up somewhere and instead of Eren telling him exactly what he did wrong, he was supposed to figure it out?

It both baffled and amazed Levi that they could get into so many fights, yet each one was completely different from the last. Their last serious fight was a result of him suffocating Eren with his body and not suffocating him with his words . . . how the hell was he supposed to figure out what he’d done wrong this time??

On the other hand, Eren was feeling _immensely_ bad for how he was treating Levi, but every time he made an attempt to fix it, it seemed like he dug himself further into a hole. By now the only person he was really angry at was himself. No, he was _furious_ at himself. Instead of working to fix their problem, he kept blowing up at Levi when they started to argue . . . and now he’d wasted so much time that he couldn’t even properly celebrate with Levi. It was only nine o’clock in the morning, yet the clock continued to tick as they remained apart from each other. He already accepted the fact that he’d started this, and it would be wrong of him to rely on Levi to try and fix it. Levi had been nothing but good to him over the past few weeks, but every time Eren attempted to accept his kindness, his mind was filled with visions of Levi being kind to everyone, and it pissed him off.

Not only would it be dumb of him to tell Levi, “promise you’ll only be nice to me, otherwise you’re not allowed to show kindness at all,” but Eren was also embarrassed over how he felt about it. There were people trapped in abusive relationships every day, yet here he was complaining about his boyfriend treating him too kindly. It was pathetic – _he_ was pathetic, and he had no idea how to turn this all around. If he wasn’t careful, he was going to _force_ Levi to leave him, and that was Eren’s greatest fear. Suddenly, he knew what it was like to live with wondering if your partner was going to leave, and he wanted to kick himself for knowing Levi had felt like this for _weeks_ when they started dating. It was an _awful_ feeling – he felt scared, worried, and angry all at the same time. He wanted to yell at Levi because he was mad at him, yet he also wanted to lock him in a room so that he couldn’t leave him.

Eren _despised_ getting a taste of his own medicine, which meant that he’d had enough of this! He was going to apologize and move on! Right now! It was his first Christmas together with Levi _and_ it was Levi’s birthday! Here he was hogging his bed after he’d kicked him out of it while Levi was all alone _and_ cake-less in the living room!

So, Eren swallowed his pride and nervously slid out of the bed, pulling on an oversized shirt as he stared at the door that separated them. Really, he didn’t have a problem with apologizing first. He’d done it before and as a matter of fact, he usually did. This time was different though. This time _everything_ was his fault . . .

Levi would surely forgive him even though he shouldn’t. What he _should_ do is ignore him for the next few weeks, maybe even kick him out to go and live at his parents’ house for a while. It serves him right for being such an annoying little shit . . .

He sighed again and opened the door, his eyes immediately landing on Levi who was calmly reading a book on the couch.

“Leave me alone,” Levi immediately announced. “I’m just trying to read a book and mind my own business here.”

“I’m sorry,” Eren apologized. “I’m sorry, Levi.”

Levi nodded in a “we’ll see how long this lasts” sort of way and Eren frowned, walking over to him and standing obnoxiously close as Levi read on in silence. Eren could see goosebumps of annoyance erupt on his skin as a result of his proximity, but he couldn’t let this go just yet.

“Really, I’m sorry. I have no _good_ reason to act this way, so please accept my apology.”

“Okay.”

“And happy birthday.”

“Thanks.”

“And I know you said no gifts, but let me at least make you a cake,” Eren mumbled, still feeling a strong sense of rejection coming from Levi. Oh well – he wasn’t expecting Levi to hug him and tell him he was forgiven right away. “I have all of the stuff to make it.”

“Do whatever you want.”

“Okay. I love you.”

Levi _finally_ looked up at him for what seemed like half of a second before returning to his book. “Could’ve fooled me.”

“I’m _really_ sorry,” Eren stressed. “Really, really, _really_ sorry! I hate myself . . .”

“That’s a little too far,” Levi scoffed. “I get that you’re sorry brat, and as many times as you’ve forgiven me, it’d be pretty shitty of me not to forgive you.”

“. . . Okay . . .”

“And I still love you.”        

Eren perked up at that, gasping when Levi closed his book and invited him onto his lap. He lunged onto him, knocking the wind out of Levi in the process, so he shyly apologized for it before getting comfortable. Though he initially expected it to take time for them to get back to the point of where they could act normal around each other, he actually felt like a fog had been lifted from the room. Eren felt like he could _finally_ be himself again, and he was thankful that this feeling didn’t come too late.

“I wasted a lot of time this month being mad at you, but at least we still have the rest of your _actual_ birthday to enjoy,” Eren said, happily.

Levi took a deep breath, struggling to breath with Eren straddling his lap and nearly choking the life out of him. “There’s always next year.”

“You still want to date me for another whole _year_?”

“ _Yes_ , Eren.”

“Okay, just making sure.”

Levi thought Eren was being _extra_ cute right now, and probably not on purpose either. His natural personality, while it sometimes drove him crazy, was adorable ninety percent of the time. Hey, maybe he’d want to get married?

No, no, _no_ – he’d already said he _wasn’t_ going to propose. Sure, Eren was being cute _now_ , but what about later tonight or tomorrow? What if he turned into his demonic, bratty self again??

“I’ll go make the cake now,” Eren declared, sliding off of Levi’s lap. “And after that, you can pick what we do for the rest of the day since it’s _your_ day after all!”

_Well . . ._

The _original_ plan was for Eren to open the mountain of gifts he’d bought for him (gifts that were currently locked away and hidden in the spare bedroom) but due to Eren’s attitude, Levi was prepared to just set them all on fire later tonight. Levi had worked _really_ hard to make sure every gift he got for Eren was something he’d like (and something that couldn’t be used to annoy him) and he desperately wanted to see Eren’s reaction to his hard work. He wanted Eren to know that even though he never looked like he was listening, he truly was. After that, he planned on proposing. He didn’t really see a point in doing anything extravagant, and while Eren originally said he wanted to get proposed to in front of the Eifel tower, he quickly figured out that Eren respected and admired simplicity.

Indeed, Eren’s love wouldn’t be bought, even though Levi had easily spent thousands of dollars on him for Christmas. This was different though! The purpose of getting the gifts was to see the excitement and appreciation on Eren’s face when he opened them. It wasn’t about buying his love – it was about the experience. Plus, some of this stuff Levi wanted for himself, and buying it for Eren allowed him to also get use out of it. See? He’d thought about this _very_ carefully.

He waited patiently until Eren had put the cake in the oven before exercising his right to choose their next activity.

“I bought some gifts for you,” he announced. Looks like he really _didn’t_ want to burn everything he’d taken his time and money to get for Eren.

“I thought you said no gifts!?” Eren cried. “Levi! You _swore_ you wouldn’t buy me anything!”

“I just bought a few things you whiny brat, so don’t get your panties in a wad. Kids in Africa sit on big piles of garbage everyday and you want to complain about a few gifts??”

“You better have only bought a few then,” Eren murmured, secretly looking happier than he wanted to.

“Go into the bedroom while I get them out here.”

“Okay!”

Eren obediently raced into the bedroom and Levi rolled his eyes in fondness at the behavior. It was true that they _had_ made a promise not to buy gifts for each other, because they technically had everything they wanted, but Levi was positive Eren wouldn’t know he actually _needed_ an air-fryer until he had one. Or a temperature-control coffee cup. Or those _Dr._ _Martens_ he liked so much. Or the air-pods. Or the vintage record player. Or the oil diffuser . . . and he’d forgotten the rest of what he bought him. Oh well – he couldn’t be expected to remember over a hundred individual gifts. The only thing he _refused_ to get for Eren was a puppy, something that should have been first on his list considering Eren _loved_ to remind him how cute they were ( _not_ ).

Meanwhile, Eren waited patiently in the bedroom, trying not to focus on how many noises he could hear outside. It may have been just him, but it sounded like Levi was making _multiple_ trips into their spare bedroom, and after twenty minutes passed, he was growing suspicious. Levi told him he got just a _few_ things . . .

Eventually Levi opened the door to let him out and Eren tried to control himself as he walked into the living room.

“LEVI!?”

“Merry –

“I thought you said a _few_ things?!” Eren said, wheezing as he took in the sight of the living room that no longer had a floor. Well, technically, it _did_ have a floor – a floor made out of gifts! “What the hell?!”

“What?” Levi asked, attempting to feign surprise and shock. “I _did_ only get a few things. Do you think Santa brought the rest?”

“You’re a _horrible_ actor,” Eren giggled. “And I don’t believe Santa brought all of these. I haven’t been _that_ good this year. Besides, I didn’t really ask for anything.”

“You didn’t have to ask. He was listening.”

Levi was taken aback when Eren whipped around to face him, bottom lip quivering and eyes quickly filling with tears. He erupted into a crying fit, which made Levi feel incredibly awkward because Eren was _supposed_ to cry during the proposal . . .

“Eren,” he said, reaching out to pet his hair, but instead received another hug that could have killed him. “Why are you crying?”

“Because! Why did you do this, you jerk?” Eren sobbed. “How am I supposed to make it up to you?”

“You can make it up to me by opening them and being excited about it.”

“. . . I don’t deserve them . . . you should have just lit them all on fire because my attitude _sucks_.”

“I would _never_ consider doing something like that,” Levi lied. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

 Eren sniffled once again. “Are you sure I can have them?”

“I’m sure. You deserve twice this many gifts if I’m being honest. You’ve made me very happy this year, so I’m asking you nicely to give me this chance to let you know how happy you’ve made me.”

“WAHHHHHHH!”

Levi pulled a hysterically sobbing Eren over to the pile of gifts and sat him down on the floor. He put a gift in his lap and forced him to hold it, patiently waiting for him to stop crying and seriously open it. So much for taking pictures. He supposed it was endearing that Eren was so happy that he was crying, but who cried when they were opening presents? Eren’s quality of life was about to improve and there was no reason to cry over something like that!

“Eren,” Levi said, rubbing his back and trying to sooth him. “Go ahead and open it.”

Eren took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay . . . I think I’m fine now.”

“Good.”

“I want to open this square one.”

“What square one?”

Suddenly Levi felt both hot and cold all over when Eren reached over and picked up a black box that _suspiciously_ looked like the one he’d put Eren’s engagement ring in. It had been hidden in the guest room among the gifts, but Levi was a hundred percent sure he hadn’t picked it up as he moved everything into the living room . . . or maybe he was ninety-nine percent sure . . . actually, wait a minute . . .

“It’s interesting,” Eren noted, examining the box by turning it around in his hands. “And it’s not wrapped.”

“Don’t open it!!!”

“Huh? How come?”

Levi snatched the box out of his hands so fast he could have sparked a small flame between them, although the more he stared at Eren’s confused face, the more he began to wonder if Eren wasn’t aware of what was inside. Admittedly, it didn’t look like the traditional black, velvet, square engagement ring box. Instead, the box was large, flat, slim, and designed in a way that was _meant_ to look deceiving. However, someone with a little intuition could have probably figured out what this was. What else other than jewelry would be put into such a fancy looking box? And what piece of jewelry would he give Eren other than an engagement ring?!

Honestly, he probably shouldn’t question it and just be thankful for Eren’s naïve, innocent nature.

He may have spoken too soon though, because Eren snatched the box back away from him and held it behind his back, smiling impishly before poking his tongue out. Never mind, Eren was the exact _opposite_ of innocent!

“Why can’t I open it?” he repeated. “Is it something bad?”

“Tch, it’s not for _you_ ,” Levi lied.

“Then who’s it for?”

“Let me see it and I’ll tell you.”

“Ha!” Eren laughed. “Nice try! If it’s not for me, then it must be for Mikasa, right? There’s no other reason why you’d be so protective over it.”

“Yeah, it’s for Mikasa. Now give it back so I can give it to her.”

“I’ll give it back when you tell me what it is.”

“Eren –

“What could you _possibly_ fit in such a weirdly shaped box?” Eren asked, absentmindedly beginning to open Mikasa’s gift. “Is it a watch? Maybe a necklace? Is it –

Eren paused mid-sentence after opening the box, staring wide-eyed and in shock at a large diamond ring inside. He never really wore jewelry, nor did he know anything about it, but he could tell when something was real. His eyes were drawn to the diamond like moths to a flame. Really, he couldn’t help but stare at it. In fact, the box came equipped with a bright light inside that illuminated the ring in such a way that was probably meant to make the receiver think they were getting proposed to . . .

“Wait a minute,” Eren stated quietly, suddenly realizing what all of this meant. Yes, it all made sense: Levi being nicer to him than usual, Levi trying extra hard to please him, Levi wanting to keep this beautiful ring a secret from him. How could he have been so blind??

“You bought Mikasa an engagement ring?!”

“. . .”

“Are you _shitting_ me, Levi?! You’re going to marry your own daughter?! This isn’t Alabama!”

Levi sighed, rolling his eyes in exhaustion. “Eren, you can’t _seriously_ think that ring is meant for her.”

“You said it was!”

“I _lied_ to try to keep you from opening it, you nosy little shit! Out of all these gifts on the floor you just _had_ to open the one that wasn’t meant to be opened!”

Eren froze, looking out over the mountain of gifts and then back to the box with the engagement ring. “You were going to propose to me?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I love it! The answer is yes!”

Levi watched Eren tear the ring out of the box and slide it on his finger, and while he normally would have been pleased because he got what he wanted, he wasn’t pleased at all. That yes had been _way_ too easy. And no, he wasn’t one to stick to traditions or anything, but wasn’t he supposed to get down on one knee? Where were the tears (since _now_ was an appropriate time to cry)? Where was the hug?! Eren wasn’t allowed to just put his ring on himself! He didn’t even get to _ask_ Eren if he would marry him!

“No. This isn’t right,” Levi grumbled.

“Too late,” Eren declared, holding his hand to his chest. “I’m not taking it off.”

“But –

“NO! You already told me I could have it!”

“I didn’t tell you that! You just put it on!”

“We’re already engaged! I’m not letting you convince me to take it off because I don’t trust you!”

“Look –

“I’ve already picked the venue!” Eren continued. “I’ve sent out the invitations! I’ve picked out the cake! I know what I’m wearing!”

“EREN!”

“. . . Yes?”

“Are you afraid I’m going to change my mind?”

Eren looked remorseful, sadly staring at the ring on his left finger and dropping his hand protectively into his lap. “Maybe . . . I know I haven’t been very fun to be around this month . . .”

Instead of agreeing with him, Levi just stayed quiet, however his silence ended up speaking volumes.

“Ughhhh,” Eren groaned. “I know I suck . . .”

“You never really told me why you’ve been more of a brat than usual,” Levi said, adding, “if you want to keep the ring, cough it up.”

Eren frowned. “Basically, I was worrying myself to death over wondering what would happen if you started being nice to everyone. What if people realized how great you are and tried to take you away from me?? And what if they did? It’s not a secret that there are better options out there.”

“You remind me of the way I used to be.”

“It’s not fun to feel insecure.”

“No, it’s not. But you don’t have to feel insecure. I promise I’ll only be nice to you, brat. Don’t worry about silly shit like that.”

Normally, being told not to worry didn’t really do it for Eren, and it actually ended up making him worry _more_. However, he knew he could trust Levi completely. If Levi told him not to worry, then he wouldn’t.

“Okay,” Eren firmly promised. “I won’t worry anymore. So, can I open up the rest of my gifts now?”

“Sure.”

“By the way,” Eren said, reaching over to pick up another box. “I _love_ the ring. It’s beautiful, and if I were you, I wouldn’t trust me at school with it. If I lost something like this, I’d kill myself.”

“I’d kill you first.”

Eren laughed. “Soooo . . . how much was it?”

“You don’t want to know,” Levi answered, refusing to remember the day he paid for it. “By the way, will you marry me?”

“Duh. Why are you asking me again?”

“I didn’t actually get to _ask_ you. You just put that ring on yourself and decided we were engaged.”

“Okay, what’s the problem?”

“ _You’re_ the one who likes to hold to traditions.”

“I do, don’t I?” Eren asked thoughtfully, thinking back to the many Christmas traditions he made Levi participate in. “If I take it off and let you propose to me properly, will you give it back?”

“Well, it won’t fit _my_ finger will it?”

Eren hesitated for a moment before pulling off the ring and placing it into the palm of Levi’s hand. “Okay, I’m ready.”

“Me too. Pawn shop here I come.”

“Hey! Give that back, you jerk!” Eren yelled, laughing when Levi took off across the apartment with his ring. "Fine. But _you_ can have fun picking up  _all_ this wrapping paper when I'm done. I'll be sure to tear it into _extra_ tiny pieces as I open my gifts!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I'm ending it here, guys! I knew after taking a hiatus it'd be difficult for me to come back to this story, so I decided to crank out this last chapter that I hope isn't too inappropriate considering how everything has developed so far. I feel like I could have done more with this story, but I'm working on another piece that I want to devote my full attention to! 
> 
> You all have been a wonderful audience :')


End file.
